On the Way to a Smile
by Regiss
Summary: Axel made a promise that he'd always be there to bring them back, but now Lea finds that he can't remember who one of "them" was. With his heart weighed down by guilt, Lea will do anything to get his friend back—and his memories with her. Part 3 of Remember the Tides.
1. One Year Later

"Hey Axel, you haven't forgotten?"

Axel paused with his lips parted and his stick of ice cream halfway to his mouth. "Hm?" Blinking his startlingly green eyes once at the alluring, salty-sweet treat in front of him, he inwardly sighed and then turned to the person who had spoken to him. "What?" It was a simple, almost disinterested question as he looked to his left, his spiky red hair and black leather coat blowing in the evening wind as he sat there.

It was a clock tower that he sat on, his feet dangling off the edge to the plaza far below. This town, Twilight Town, was so named for the beautiful sunsets it had every day, not to mention the matching orange hue that all of its buildings were painted. Built along a forested mountainside, though, the best place of all to view those sunsets was at the peak of the mountain, where a train station—the largest train station in the city—was situated. And the clock tower, Axel's favorite hangout, stretched high above that station.

Axel's friend to his left also held a stick of sea-salt ice cream, though he hadn't started eating it or made any move to do so. That was unusual for the blond teen. Roxas and Axel had come up here practically every day, just the two of them, ever since Axel brought him once for the 'icing on the cake': hard-earned desert after a long day's work. Roxas _loved_ sea-salt ice cream, but he was just letting it melt as he held the stick in both hands and stared down at the plaza far below.

"You made us a promise," Roxas said without looking up at Axel. He had a bad habit of not looking at people when he was in a thinking mood, which was most of the time. Seriously, the kid was way too broody for someone his age, Nobody or not. That was part of why Axel had started hanging around him, he needed to liven up a little!

But that was beside the point.

"I did?" Axel asked, his attention now pulled from his ice cream entirely. There was nothing he could recall. Axel prided himself on his memory and always encouraged others to do the same; he certainly would have remembered a promise he had made, especially if it was one he made to his best friend.

"That you'd always be there…" Roxas continued, still yet to take a single bite of his melting treat. "To bring us back."

Axel took in a breath and pulled a bit away from Roxas as he let it out. "Yeah…"

Now a sense of familiarity registered in the back of Axel's mind, and he turned to look back out at the sunset. He did remember now, in fact. Roxas had been stupid at some Organization XIII mission and refused to go back to the Castle That Never Was with Axel. They had had an argument in front of Twilight Town's old mansion—Axel didn't even recall what it was about—and Axel had promised Roxas that no matter how far he ran, he'd always be there to bring him back.

Out of the corner of his eye, Axel was vaguely aware of Roxas making the redhead's trademark pose, tapping his index finger against the side of his head. "Got it memorized?" he quoted with a grin coating his voice.

"Best friends forever," Axel said with a chuckle. Roxas's image faded away beside him as Axel stared out at the setting sun and took a small bite of his ice cream. The laughter was still on his lips, but after a moment it slowly began to die off as he stopped and replayed Roxas's words over in his head.

…' _Us'?_

* * *

 _Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?_

 _They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs... The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world._

 _That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight..._

 **Remember the Tides III:  
** **On the Way to a Smile**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: One Year Later**

Years ago, there had been a world that was aglow with light—both literally and figuratively. Known as Radiant Garden, the city of light, it was blessed with serene gardens, crystal-clear waters, and peace that had lasted decades. Radiant Garden was a paradise of magic and technology, unparalleled in nearly all the cosmos. Under the rule of the great sage-king Ansem the Wise, it entered an era of prosperity practically unheard of as it delved into the truths behind the magic, light, and the very heart itself.

Then came Xehanort. In a matter of months, this wicked wielder of the legendary Keyblade had deposed Ansem, swayed his apprentices to his side, and unleashed a horrible darkness across not only Radiant Garden, but the entire universe. From beneath the castle that stood tall and proud at the center of the world, wicked, nightmarish creatures known as Heartless arose. They stole the hearts of the people and of Radiant Garden itself, devouring its light and plunging the world into shadow, turning it into an empty shell of its former self, and leaving nothing but a Hollow Bastion standing over the dead remains.

But now Xehanort was dead.

In the year that had passed since the defeat of the fallen Keyblade Master, Hollow Bastion had begun to rebuild. The Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, a small assembly of a handful of young survivors from the disaster, had tried before with moderate success only to have it all torn from their hands by the machinations of both Xehanort and the evil fairy Maleficent. But now, with resources and funding provided by a little king from a far-off world, the Restoration Committee had grown exponentially in numbers and size. Work proceeded much quicker, and soon the setbacks the Restoration Committee had experienced were a thing of the past and the reconstruction was further along than ever before.

On this bright, cloudless day, when the sun was shining and the birds were singing, a man moved down the spotless cobblestone roads. His heavy leather boots, the upper halves obscured by grey pants, went step after step at a pace only ever so slightly faster than a leisurely stroll. His long blue coat, held closed by a silver zipper, stopped just above his ankles and swayed slightly to the left and right with each step. The man moved aside with a pleasant chuckle as a trio of laughing children came running his way, greeting them all with a smile behind his goatee.

Though the children smiled back at him, he only caught their attention for a few moments before they continued their mad dash. The three children came to a stop in front of a building decorated with a duck bill and top hat, the first one to arrive loudly proclaiming that he won while his companions rested with their hands on their knees. His shouting caught the attention of the oddly-decorated store's owner, who talked excitedly to the children before handing over bars of ice cream for a handful of munny each. As the man in the blue coat watched the children go with that smile still on his face, he heard the shopkeeper calling him over.

"Well now, what brings you all the way out the town square today, eh?" Scrooge McDuck asked as he leaned forward on the counter of his ice cream shop.

"What, I can't just go out for a walk on a day as nice as today?" He waved to another band of children who came running to Scrooge's shop and moved aside to allow them to purchase their ice cream.

"Oh, enjoyin' the fruits of your labor, are ye?" Scrooge chuckled at the man as he handed the kids their treats. "Now don't run and eat it at the same time, boys!" Turning back to his visitor, Scrooge grinned slyly and tilted the brim of his hat so it fell over his eyes. "If that were all ye were out here for, just getting' away from that stuffy boardroom office o' yours, then what's that in your hand?"

The man looked down at the stuffed black animal he had been holding in his left hand. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

Scrooge tapped his cane on the ground and puffed his chest out proudly. "I've been around the block enough times to notice these things. Give me some credit, laddie!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

Now Scrooge leaned in once more. "Now come on, then. You can tell me, one businessman to another. Ye're tryin' to get on Leon's good side again, ain'tcha?"

A sigh escaped his lips and he ran a hand through his well-groomed black hair. "I just don't know why Leon won't cooperate with me. I've tried my best over this past year to be open to him, and we've rebuilt so much, but there's still much more that needs to be done before Radiant Garden is back to the way it used to be. I can't help but feel we'd be further along if he'd cooperate."

"Ach, it's not your fault. Leon's just the closed-off sort. He grew up with most of his group and doesn't trust much anyone else all that easily." Scrooge adjusted his position, moving slightly closer and gesturing to the stuffed toy. "Now, I'm guessing that's for the lass Cloud and Tifa took in? She may love it, but it won't do much to sway Leon."

"You think so?" He looked down. "I wanted to show Leon that I'd like to be more than just his business partner; if I can be friends with his friends, then maybe we could be friends as well." A brief chuckle escaped his lips, and he rubbed the back of his neck, abashed. "Sorry, I sounded a bit like that boy with the Keyblade, there."

Scrooge whapped him lightly on the shoulder with his cane. "But it isn't the wee girl you're tryin' to woo, it's Leon himself. Now I'm not sayin' don't give her the present—lord knows she needs it after all she's been through—but don't go expectin' Leon to invite you over for tea and biscuits after that, either. The people o' Radiant Garden already love you for all you and the Restoration Committee have done! Don't focus on everyone, just focus on the one."

"I think I see what you mean, yes." He bounced the stuffed toy up and down in his hands a few times, then stood up straight and held a hand up in parting. "Nice speaking to you, Scrooge."

"Aye, and you as well! Stop by any time, and maybe I'll let you taste-test my new flavor!"

"It's a deal!" he called back over his shoulder.

How much he had done for Radiant Garden, huh? The man slipped his hands into the deep pockets of his coat and moved down the streets with a bit of a slower gait, his head turning every which way as he took in the sights more closely this time. Amidst the people and Moogles, there were still some piles of lumber here and there, and the occasional house which didn't quite have a finished roof or one last coat of paint, but on the whole their world was up and running again. It was Hollow Bastion no longer. At long last, after all these long and hard years, they could once again call their home Radiant Garden.

Well, he really didn't want to take all the credit for how much things had improved. After all, he was only a manager. It wasn't like he was actively out there with the repair crews, working up a sweat, getting things done, but somebody had to handle the management. Someone had to sit in the office working on a budget, planning out what took priority. And he was good at it. He had been the head of the city's urban development before everything went to hell all those years ago.

But come to think of it, maybe that was why Leon seemed to have such a problem with him. Where he was inside pushing papers, Leon was always out in the thick of it with all the men, shouting orders and even grabbing a hammer himself on most occasions. As was the rest of the original Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, at least those physically able to be. But Leon didn't seem to quite understand how in over his head he was here. The Restoration Committee was a lot bigger than just him and his circle of friends now. It was a proper organization, and his inexperience in such things—as well as his general distrust, as Scrooge had mentioned—meant that Leon didn't know how to manage it. Besides, he had more than enough on his plate as the _de facto_ ruler of Radiant Garden as a whole, in addition to head of the committee.

They had come to an agreement at their first encounter only a few weeks after Xehanort's defeat: he would do the business side of things, and Leon would be out in the field as the face and the leader. And he was fine with that, he liked working behind the curtain. As far as he could tell Leon liked it that way, too. But for some reason neither of them could ever get to agree on much of anything whenever they had to come together. Maybe they just weren't compatible, but that was what he had come out to try and change. To try and form some kind of connection between him and Leon besides simple colleagues.

And the reason he felt it was so urgent was… Well, it was right in front of him.

It was like he had come upon the edge of the world. To his sides and behind him, Radiant Garden shined brightly, accompanied by the chatter of crowds of people. But up ahead there was nothing but a wasteland, an entire district of the city still devastated. Crumbling buildings sat ignored and rats scurried amidst the ruins, hopping from rusted, broken pipes to half-collapsed walls. Puddles were scattered across the earth despite there being no rain the last few days, and it was precisely those puddles that was the reason the district had yet to be rebuilt. None of the men wanted to go anywhere near it, not with its reputation.

The puddles weren't water. They were a gooey, sticky black liquid that had sat there for who knows how long, never drying, never vanishing. They were remnants of a disease that had once plagued the district and forced it to become a quarantined slum: Geostigma. Highly contagious, those who contracted it were guaranteed a slow and painful death. Radiant Garden's government had ignored it for years even before the fall, blocking the area off and not allowing anyone inside out for fear of infecting the rest of the world. That had caused problems of course, turning the world into a lawless slum full of hoodlums and thieves.

He had always pitied them, felt sorry for the way they had to live, but even in his time as head of urban development he still had higher-ups to answer to that prevented him from intervening. These days he didn't have that handicap, but there was still one to get through before the slums could be rebuilt. And now, with the black puddles posing a risk of infecting their work force, the construction crews refused to rebuild that area. But it had to be done if Radiant Garden was to return to its full glory, and to get it done Leon had to work with him.

Turning away from the sight, the man in the blue coat continued down the road to Leon's home. He wouldn't allow this to go unresolved any longer. He absolutely needed to convince Leon that the restoration of the ruined sector was priority number one. And then Leon would have to convince the men. He smiled softly; he didn't envy Leon for that.

 **x-x-x**

"Biggs! Wedge! Where the hell are you two?!"

Cid Highwind barged into the common room of Merlin's home, leaning on the cane he started using after barely surviving an encounter with Xaldin of Organization XIII a while back, and glaring at everyone in the vicinity. Merlin's house had been repaired and renovated after half of it had been quite literally crushed underfoot by a Behemoth Heartless, and was now almost twice as large as before with two additional levels to boot. Cid slammed shut the door to the basement computer room behind him.

"Hey, slowpokes! What do I pay you for?!"

The subjects of his ire were two individuals wincing under Cid's glare and shouts. Jumping up from their seats at the coffee table, the only two members of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee's technologies division stood at attention and saluted their boss. They were the only members for a reason: Cid was a nice enough guy, but it was _way_ too easy to get on his bad side.

"S-Sorry, sir!" said the smaller of the two. Standing just slightly taller than a Moogle, Wedge's red and black hair was done up in a style that could only be described as 'onion-like'.

"It won't happen again," added Biggs beside him. In heavy contrast to Wedge, Biggs was a walking wall of a man with pale green skin and curly blond hair. Both of them were dressed in identical uniforms: Black vests with white trim and the sleeves of their blue sweaters visible underneath, plus black goggles over their eyes.

Cid groaned and rubbed his face. "I s'pose I can't fault you two for taking a coffee break when we just pulled an all-nighter…"

" _Two_ all-nighters," Wedge said quickly.

"…but boys, we really need to figure this Claymore thing out." Cid poured himself a cup of tea and sat down at the table. Biggs and Wedge stayed standing for a few moments longer before figuring it was alright to sit back down. Cid took a sip of his tea and leaned back before continuing. "If we don't get those things back online, we can kiss our defenses goodbye. Even Leon and the gang can't be everywhere all the time."

Biggs took a bite out of a muffin, one of several that Merlin had left out that morning. "But the Heartless are practically gone now, so surely we don't need to get it done so quickly? There hasn't been a sighting of so much as a Shadow in weeks."

"Fewer don't mean gone, now does it?" Cid asked while glaring at Biggs over the rim of his teacup. "Even if the Nobodies and Unversed vanished, there's still the occasional Heartless we have to deal with. And I'm not putting anything to chance after how much damage they've done to us before."

"Not to mention Maleficent and her cronies are still out there, too," a fourth voice said. Biggs and Wedge turned around while Cid took another sip of his tea. Leon came in from the backyard, his face covered in sweat and a towel draped over his shoulders. The leader of the Restoration Committee moved over to the kitchen sink, ran his hands under the faucet, and then splashed water on his face before drying off. After picking up his jacket from a coat hanger and slipping it on, he joined Biggs, Wedge, and Cid at the table.

"Yeah, the witch is still gonna be a problem at some point down the road," Cid affirmed with a nod of his head.

Biggs took another bite of his muffin while Wedge looked nervously between Cid and Leon. "S-So, what's Maleficent like, anyway?"

"She's a witch, man! Tall, dark, and as wicked as it gets."

Leon held a bagel in his hand but didn't take a bite of it, instead opting to look over at Biggs and Wedge. After a silent moment, he turned to Cid. "Weren't you guys working on the defense system? Is that done, then?"

"Not yet. Biggs and Wedge here decided it'd be a fine time for a break." Cid smiled behind his cup. "To be honest, I kind of agree."

Leon frowned. "Are you using too much energy moving around? Should we get more assistants for you, Cid?"

"Thanks, _Aerith_. I'm fine." Cid rolled his eyes and pushed his cane away from him with his foot. "I still say I didn't even needthese two knuckleheads, nice as it is to have 'em around. Anyway, we'll get on that in a few."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one just talking about how we shouldn't wait and should be prepared for a more dangerous attack?"

"Yeah, but then I sat down."

Leon set his uneaten bagel back down on the platter rubbed his temples. "Cid…"

"I'm old and crippled, screw you." Cid leaned back in his chair and set his feet up on the coffee table. "Anyway, we need to grab something I left back in at Ansem's study before I can go any further. Biggs! Wedge!"

"Yes sir!" The two of them shot right back out of their seats once more with their backs straight and their arms at their sides.

"Head over to the Bastion, to Ansem the Wise's old study. There's a part from his computer room that should be sitting on the desk. If it's not on the desk, Cissnei probably knows where it is. Hop to it!" Cid shouted the last sentence, sending Biggs and Wedge scurrying toward the front door.

Leon gave Cid a sidelong glance. "Cissnei is at the castle again?"

"All day every day, feels like. No idea why, though."

"Hm…"

A loud _wham_ followed by grunts of pain and surprise called the attention of Leon and Cid over to the front door, where Biggs was helping Wedge up to his feet as the latter rubbed his head. He had collided head-first into the door as it had swung open before Cid's assistants had reached it, and standing in front of the two of them was the familiar sight of a man with unmistakable spiky blond hair.

Cid raised his teacup in salute. "Hey, welcome back, Cloud! Back from deliveries?"

Cloud stepped out of the way as Biggs and Wedge hurried past him and sprinted off in the direction of the Gummi hangar, nearly toppling over his motorcycle parked just outside in their hurry. Deciding the bike was safe for now, Cloud closed the door and turned to face Leon and Cid with a small smile. "Hey."

"You feeling any better?" Leon asked, his eyes falling on the sleeve covering Cloud's left arm.

Under Leon's gaze Clouds hand drifted up to the sleeve and rubbed his bicep. "I'm fine, yeah," he said in his usual quiet tone.

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah." Short and to the point.

"Bullcrap." It wasn't Leon who responded, though. Tifa stood on the bottom of the stairs, her hands on her hips and a dangerous fire behind her glare directed right at Cloud. She marched down the remaining few steps and right over to Cloud, keeping that glare on him the entire time. Two small figures stayed behind her on the stairs, watching with worry.

Seeing Tifa's expression, Leon stood up and began to excuse himself, but Cid grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down into his chair. "Front-row seats," he whispered with a grin.

Cloud was already backing up before Tifa leaned her face into his and pressed a finger against his chest. "Who said you could get out of bed?"

"The deliveries—"

" _Who said_ , Cloud?" Cloud grimaced and looked away, so Tifa pursed her lips. "Cloud."

Cloud grabbed Tifa's hand before she could force him to look at her. "Tifa, I'm just making deliveries to people who need supplies. I can handle myself."

"You absolutely cannot!" Tifa said with a scoff. "Cloud, just because you haven't died from the Geostigma, don't pretend you're invincible. You're still sick." She reached for his sleeve, but stopped just short of pulling it up and revealing the black markings all along his arm. Cloud had caught the Geostigma a year ago while out patrolling the ruins with her and Sora, and had hidden it for weeks before it almost got them killed by Heartless. He was the only person on record to not have died from it within days, but he still was in no condition to go around riding his motorcycle. At least according to Tifa.

"It's super contagious too, Cloud. Even if you _were_ fine—which you're _not_ —you shouldn't go around town."

"Only if they touch the black liquid." Cloud took Tifa's hand in his and lowered it from his sleeve. "So don't pull the sleeve up, Tifa. That's also why I wear gloves."

"You are unbelievable! Get to bed, Cloud!"

"Tifa, I'm fine."

"Cloud!

"Do you think you're my mother all of a sudden?"

"If I was, maybe you'd listen to me once in a while!"

"Both of you stop it!" shouted one of the two standing on the stairs. Children. It was the girl who had spoken, a little girl who couldn't be any older than seven. Her brown braided ponytail was held back by a pink bow—Aerith's handiwork—and she was looking at the two of them with disappointment, of all things. Behind the girl, looking more nervous than disappointed, was a slightly older boy with wavy brown hair.

Tifa and Cloud had both grown silent at the girl's shout. They looked between the two children and then Tifa slowly pulled away from Cloud, though her gaze lingered on his arm before she returned to the kids. "How long have you two been there?"

"The whole time," Cid chimed in from the table. "Marlene and Denzel know when somethin's up, Tifa. Young don't mean stupid. They wanted to see the lover's quarrel, too." When Tifa shot him a glare, Cid quickly averted his gaze.

The two orphans had been taken in by Cloud and Tifa on two separate occasions, both of them having been found by Cloud out in the ruins during Radiant Garden's reconstruction after Xehanort's fall. While Marlene was physically fine—though her father's death had wounded her—Denzel had been sick when Cloud had located him, albeit not with Geostigma. The shy boy had grown attached to him, while Marlene had taken an immediate liking to Tifa and Aerith.

"Sorry," Cloud said softly, though whether to Tifa or the children no one was sure.

"Yeah, me too. We shouldn't argue in front of your kids."

"You shouldn't argue at all!" Marlene said.

"You gonna be okay, Cloud?" asked Denzel, speaking up for the first time.

Cloud gazed at Tifa for a moment and then ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'll be fine after some rest. I have more deliveries to make later today, though." Tifa frowned, but didn't say anything more and followed Cloud up to the staircase.

Marlene nodded. "Yeah, get to bed like Tifa says!" She held her arm up in front of her and grabbed her forearm. "'How are you supposed to look after your family if you can't even look after yourself?'" Lowering her arm, she grinned. "That's what Daddy always said."

"Could I come with later and ride on your bike, Cloud?" Denzel asked.

Cloud ruffled Denzel's hair with a smile as he walked past him. "We'll see." As Cloud, Tifa, and Denzel returned upstairs, Marlene lingered behind for a moment, running over to a nearby cabinet and grabbing some medicine for Cloud. Before following them upstairs, there was a knock at the door.

"Sheesh, busy day," Cid commented dryly.

"Don't get up, I'll get it!" Marlene set the medicine down and darted over to the door.

Leon picked up the bagel he had set down earlier and finally took a bite of it as Cid watched with an amused smile. "So what was wrong with it before?"

"Been a talkative morning, like you said. I'm hoping to finally have a chance to just sit down and relax," he said before taking a bite.

"Oh, Mr. Tuesti!"

Leon practically choked on the bagel as Marlene greeted the man at the door. Forcing the bite down, he turned to see the little girl talking to a smiling man with a goatee and long, blue coat.

"Now Marlene, I told you that you can just call me Reeve." Reeve Tuesti, formerly head of Radiant Garden's urban development before things turned upside-down, and currently the person Leon wanted to see the least. "By the way, I brought you a gift. Would you like it?" Reeve reached into his pocket and held out a stuffed toy, a black and white cat wearing a crown and red cape.

"Wow, a Cait Sith doll! Thank you!"

"My pleasure," Reeve said, still with that smile on his face. "Is Leon here? I'd like to speak to him."

Marlene didn't have to answer. Sighing and ignoring Cid's chuckles, Leon stood up from his chair and approached the two of them. He really didn't have anything against Reeve personally, but they butted heads on their priorities. Reeve wanted to rebuild what was still ruined, but Leon knew it was far more important to continue on what they had already built up. The people living here still had necessities that needed fixing: stable food, clean water, the defense system Cid was supposed to be working on… Still, Leon couldn't deny that Reeve had been a huge help in managing the Restoration Committee as it had grown.

Leon could also tell Reeve was trying to be his friend, but Leon wanted to keep their relationship strictly business. Reeve was a businessman first and foremost, and if Leon knew anything it was that you shouldn't trust businessmen. The way he stayed cooped up in that office instead of helping out on the field just rubbed him the wrong way, too. But a house call? That was a new move, and a bold one.

Maybe the reason Reeve felt he had a stronger connection to Leon than simply business partners was the way they had been introduced. Yuffie had introduced them, after she had met him while doing a headcount of all of the survivors in Traverse Town who were to be shipped back to Hollow Bastion following Xehanort's defeat. Something between her and Reeve seemed to click, and she was often the liaison between him and Leon.

As if Reeve had been reading Leon's mind, he spoke up. "By the way, where's Yuffie?"

 **x-x-x**

Akademeia, founded by Ansem the Wise, had been the pride of Radiant Garden during the golden age. The most prestigious school in the world, its students were the best, the brightest, and more often than not the richest. In addition to academics, the academy also featured a broad array of subjects ranging from Chocobo care to magic use, and many of its graduates went on to work at the Bastion. Professor Even himself was said to have graduated here from the top of his class, and he still taught the occasional class in the years leading up to the fall.

So of course, as such an important location, Akademeia was one of the first priorities when reconstruction began, something both Leon and Reeve had agreed on. Of course, under the current circumstances, its previous elite status was both diminished and irrelevant. Children of all ages attended now, and with social class something that hadn't quite recovered yet in the city, it wasn't something exclusive to the best, brightest, and richest either. But still it was there. It was familiar. It was a vision of hope for Radiant Garden's future.

And it was _boring_.

Yuffie groaned and rested her head against her desk, not even bothering to pretend to be paying attention as the teacher at the front of the class rambled on and on about something boring, she didn't care. She didn't even care enough to ask to copy Deuce's notes after class. This was boring, the uniform was itchy, and wearing skirts sucked. School sucked.

 _Screw Leon for forcing me to come here_. _'Proper education' my ass, I don't need that to fight Heartless._

"Miss Kisaragi!"

Yuffie's eyes shot open and she sat up straight. "Uh, the answer is thirty-two!" Light laughter rippled up among the class and she looked to her right to see Rem and Trey, the two who sat at the same desk as her, shaking their heads.

"If I had asked you a math question, it probably still wouldn't be thirty-two," the teacher said. Yuffie slunk down in her chair, her shoulders slumping. Oh great, so not only was she bored but now she had made a fool of herself. She'd take the opportunity to turn this on its head and earn her place as the class clown, but Leon had already gotten on her case about it the last two times.

"Miss Kisaragi, I know this school is not as elite as it once was, and I know you are one of the heroes of the Restoration Committee, but do not expect special treatment! If you are not going to respect the fine tradition of Akademeia then you will see me after class. Am I clear?"

Yuffie sighed and picked up a pencil. "Sure, right. You're clear."

"Good. Now, back to what I was saying, kupo…" As Mr. Moglin floated back to the board and tapped against it, Yuffie sighed and glanced over at Deuce's notes beside her.

One eternity later, the bell finally rang. Yuffie shot out of her seat and grabbed her bag so quickly she was like a blur to everyone else in the class. She shot out of that fancy, stuffy red room and dashed down the equally fancy, stuffy, and red hallway toward the entrance lobby of the school. While equally fancy, the lobby was lacking the stuffy and the red, which was a plus. Its floor was polished to an obscene degree though, and as students made their way to the front entrance it was almost like Yuffie was seeing double with the way it reflected.

Normally Yuffie would be the first one out those gates, speeding back to Merlin's house to get out of this freakin' itchy uniform and back into her regular attire, but a familiar face caught her eye in the crowd. Or rather, a familiar back of the head. Sneaking up on her prey with a toothy grin and slapped him in the back of his spiky blond head.

"Gah, hey! Yuffie?!"

Yuffie laughed and wrapped her arm over Ventus's shoulder, though Ven would probably argue that it was more like a headlock than any friendly gesture. "Ven! Great to see you, kid! Hey, come with me." Still keeping her arm on him, she steered the Keybearer toward a flight of stairs

"Uh, Yuffie? The exit is back there."

"Yup!" Yuffie flashed another grin. "Ven, I'm your senior right?"

Ven answered slowly. "…You're in the class above me, yeah."

"That's right. And as my junior, you get to buy me a cup of coffee!"

* * *

 _Welcome everyone to_ On the Way to a Smile _! This is a series of stories I have been making since August of 2013, starting with_ Remember the Tides _and followed by_ The Tides Go Out _. If you're new, you should definitely start by reading those. I apologize for TTGO being so long, I should have split it into two, but that's the past._ Smile _most likely won't be nearly as long._

 _As with TTGO, I'm going to start things off a little slowly with a couple chapters to set everything up and ease us into the action. A lot has changed on Hollow Bastion in a year, least of all its name changing back! Oh, and Lea won't be the only main character, but he's the only one who's appeared in KH so the only one FFN lets me pick._

 _And just a bit of trivia if you guys haven't played Final Fantasy Type-0 for PS4. Akademeia is the school featured in that game and Yuffie's classmates are the main cast. And Biggs and Wedge are the versions from FF14._

 _Lastly, the cover art was made by Hisui-no-Afurika._


	2. At Dusk I Will Think of You

**Chapter 2: At Dusk I Will Think of You**

On Akademeia's third floor was a coffee shop built right into the school for ease of access. It had started as one of the Restoration Committee's workers just setting up a coffee pot during the construction of the building, and quickly grew to a hangout for them, and soon students who moved into Akademeia's dorms when they had nowhere else to go. By the time the school had been finished building, the coffee shop had become a mainstay of the building. Now it was a popular hangout not only for the students in the dorms, but for those who lived beyond the school grounds as well.

At the oval-shaped counter in the center of the room, Ventus handed over some munny to Montblanc, the Moogle barista who wore an apron several sizes too big for him. As he turned around with one cup in each hand, he slipped past some more students needing a pick-me-up after hours of staring out the window and pretending to write notes. He crossed the freshly polished brown ceramic floor, moving past chatting students who sat at tables or on sofas, as he made his way to Yuffie over at a window. There was a door nearby that led out to a balcony overlooking Akademeia's courtyard, but it was completely filled up already.

Ven came to a stop as he approached Yuffie, though, and immediately felt his face heating up. "W-What are you doing?"

Yuffie looked up at Ven with a raised eyebrow. "What?" She followed his line of sight and looked down at her hands, which were in the middle of unbuttoning the black top of her school uniform. "Relax, Ven. I'm wearing a shirt under it. This coat is just so _itchy_." Yuffie sighed happily as she slipped the coat off and hung it over the back of her chair.

Ven smiled slightly and sat down. "Well anyway, here's your—"

"Awesome, caffeine me up!" Yuffie swiped her cup from Ven's hands and took a long swig of it before slamming it down onto the table and letting out a breath. "Oohhh, I needed that!"

Ven smiled behind his own hot chocolate. "So I guess you're not going to pay me back for it, huh?"

Yuffie playfully wagged her finger at him. "I told you, as my junior you get the honor of buying the Great Ninja Yuffie's coffee! Don't worry, kiddo: In another year or two, you'll be bossing your own juniors around!"

"Teach me the ways of the bossy upperclassman, Miss Yuffie," Ven said with a mock bow.

Yuffie smugly jabbed her thumb toward herself. "Well first you gotta be as good-looking as I am!"

"Oh, I get it, you've got to lie."

"Hey, watch it!" Yuffie leaned forward, keeping herself propped up with one hand on the table, and flicked Ven on the forehead. As Ven rubbed his forehead with a grimace, Yuffie bounced back into her seat and crossed her legs. "So, how've things been with you, Ven?" she asked after another gulp of coffee.

Ven propped his cheek up on his fist and looked down at his cup of hot chocolate. "We're getting along fine. Things are still kinda weird, but definitely not as much as they were when I first woke up."

"That first week or so you were like a zombie."

"I was super tired, it's like waking up from a full twelve hours only twelve _years_." Ven shook his head and shrugged."It's still hard to believe I missed so much time. A lot has changed, and while you guys saw it happen I just woke up one day with everything new."

"Radiant Garden sure has at least, though we're getting back there under Leon and Reeve. What other worlds have changed since then?"

Another shake of his head. "It's not the _worlds_ , really. I haven't actually left Radiant Garden too often since we got here, not even to see the Land of Dep—" He caught himself. "…Castle Oblivion. It's more like, I dunno, just all the changes in general. Seeing things like Lea all grown up, Xehanort gone, Terra gone…and you remember how awkward it was when I met Sora."

Yuffie visibly cringed. "Awkward is an understatement."

Ven found himself nodding. Yeah, more than just a bit of one for sure. "Aqua's been kind of an anchor for me since she isn't much different, though I can't imagine how hard her time in the Realm of Darkness was."

Yuffie had an uncharacteristically sad smile on her face as she looked down at her own cup of coffee, already almost empty. "It's kind of hard for me to comprehend, though I think I get where you're coming from. So!" She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, her smile growing. "Tell me some happier stuff, Ven. How are you getting along here at school?"

Ven looked down and felt his ears burning lightly at the question. He glanced aside at the other students all around, caught up in their own conversations, then peered out the window at the few students down in the courtyard who hadn't gone home for the day yet. "It's…different. I still can't remember what world I came from or what my life was like before the Keyblade, so I had gone in expecting things to be like when I trained under Master Eraqus."

"How's that?"

"It was just me, Terra, and Aqua, so the Master had a lot of time to give each of us private lessons. And when he didn't, we'd all train together." Not to mention all the other stuff they did as a trio; Ven found himself growing somber as he remembered just playing around with the two of them, or when they'd destroy the castle's kitchen making cake and then eat it under the stars. "I hadn't expected so many people here though, not even just in the school but in the classes alone. The teachers just stand up in front and don't get involved at all, and you barely interact with the people sitting next to you. It's weird, but I guess I should've seen it coming."

"Tell me about it, everyone here is so dull. We haven't even had any crazy high school parties yet!" Yuffie huffed.

"Huh?"

But Yuffie shook her head. "Never mind." She tossed her empty coffee cup into the nearest trash can then turned back to Ven. "Honestly, it's not really what I had expected either. I mean, I went to school before this all, of course, and I remember it, but I was super young. School back then was a far cry from how school is now."

"Is it too hard for you?"

It was an honest question, but Yuffie sputtered for a moment and then, cheeks red, once again leaned forward and flicked Ven on the forehead. "The Great Ninja Yuffie has no problems with anything!" She fell back into her chair and crossed her arms. "But no, it's not that. I guess just, while growing up in Traverse Town I always envisioned these years of school the way I saw on TV or read in books."

Ven couldn't resist another jab. "You read books?"

"I'll choose to ignore that," Yuffie said quickly before continuing as if she hadn't been interrupted. "But everyone here is just so… _boring_. Where's the drama? The romance? The trio of snobby rich girls?"

Ven snorted. "Sounds like you were a little too into chick flicks while growing up."

"How the heck do you even know what those _are_ , Mister 'I lived alone in a castle with three people'?"

"There was still a town nearby!" Ven recalled it clearly: down the steep mountain paths and about an hour away. It was small, but it was lively. Briefly, a nervous thought occurred to him: what happened to the people there when Aqua had locked the Land of Departure away? "And I mean, we didn't train all day every day. We had our hobbies."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me big, powerful, almighty Keyblade Master Aqua watched chick flicks?"

"I-I'm not saying anything." Ven tried to look as nonchalant as possible and turned away while taking another drink. Aqua had ears like a hawk, and somehow Ven knew she'd find out they were talking about her even though she wasn't even at Akademeia.

An awkward moment passed before Yuffie then asked, "How is Aqua anyway?"

"…Good. She's good." And she was. After Ven and Aqua had arrived in Radiant Garden following Ven's awakening, the two of them tried their best to make a life for themselves in the city. They lived together in a house not too far from Merlin's and helped out with the Restoration Committee whenever they needed a few extra help. After things started clearing up and Ven had started going to Akademeia, Aqua busied herself in the day doing odd jobs around town, usually for Scrooge, sometimes for Cid. But, at nights…

"Sometimes I'll find Aqua awake in the middle of the night, just staring at her Wayfinder" Ven said softly. He remembered the image clearly the first time he had seen it. He had gotten up to get a glass of water and Aqua was in their living room, sitting in a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest, illuminated by the soft blue glow of the star-shaped charm in her hand.

Yuffie glanced at the green charm hanging from Ven's belt. "Is it…?"

She didn't need to finish. Ven nodded. "Aqua doesn't know that I've seen her there and she puts on a strong front during the day, but it's happening more frequently. We still have no idea where Terra even is, and we haven't seen him since I woke up on the Destiny Islands—if that even _was_ him."

Yuffie frowned deeply, confused. "You haven't even tried once to go out and find him?"

"Of course I have!" Ven snapped, insulted by the very idea that he wouldn't. But he pulled back immediately upon the realization he had shouted that and people were staring. Letting out a sigh, Ven rubbed his arm. "I've tried, anyway. But Aqua has chased after me every time and brought me back. Says she doesn't want anything to happen to me."Same old story there, but this time Ven honestly had to agree with her. As much as he wanted to find Terra, the two of them really only had each other to fall back on.

"Sounds like a caring big sister you got there," Yuffie said.

Now it was Ven's turn to be confused. "Aqua and I aren't related."

"I didn't say you were!" she replied with a light giggle. "But you don't need to be. Listen, back in Traverse Town, when I was really little, Aerith would hound me day and night. She wasn't even that much older than we are now; heck, I think she was even younger! And she'd hound me day and night, making sure I didn't go off wandering town alone." Uncharacteristically, Yuffie had a sheepish look on her face. "One day I got so fed up with it I exploded at her. I asked what her deal was, why she didn't let me do anything. She said looking out for little sisters was what big sisters did."

Ven wasn't much for deep thinking, but he thought he got the gist of was about to respond when Yuffie jumped to her feet and pushed her chair back with a clatter.

"Anyway, come on! We better get going." Already she was tying her previously discarded jacket around her waist and picking up her back.

"Going where?" Ven hurried to follow Yuffie's example, fumbling for his own bag while also carrying the hot chocolate he hadn't quite finished.

Yuffie was already heading out the door by the time Ven had just pushed his seat in. "Home, where else?! I had my coffee and now I wanna get out of this place! 'Higher learning' my ass!"

 **x-x-x**

"Come on, Sora! We gotta run!" Goofy pleaded.

"The Heartless are coming!" Donald added as he tugged on Sora's arm.

"Kairi…" Sora whispered, rubbing his eyes and staring at the charm in his hands. "Not again…"

Goofy managed to pull Sora to his feet, but he didn't move otherwise. "If ya don't move now you'll never be able to save her!"

"You'll see her again, but only if you run _now!_ " Donald's voice was pleading, breaking. "Kairi wouldn't want you to give up because of her, Sora!"

Sora looked up from the charm and stared at his long time companions, but said nothing and moved his eyes to his feet instead. Still, when Donald and Goofy took his hands and began running he didn't resist.

"Come on, Lea!" Goofy cried as they ran past him and out onto the walls. Lea grimaced and looked toward the far end of the room, where the first of the Heartless were starting to emerge: Eliminators. Xehanort was bringing out the toughest Heartless he had for them.

"Someone has to hold them off, or they'll catch up…" he realized, looking to the retreating figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

 _Whoosh_.

Lea knew that sound. The sound of a Nobody manifesting. He grimaced as the humanoid figure appeared, two swords in its hands.

 _ **Allow me.**_

"No way!" Lea shouted at the Samurai, the last Samurai. His last link to Roxas. "There have been enough losses today! No more!"

 _ **Allow me to do my duty.**_

"No way, I forbid it!" Lea ran in front of the Samurai, but it vanished into thin air and then reappeared behind him in turn, closer still to the Heartless swarm. Wizards and Novashadows had joined the Eliminator. "You aren't allowed to die, damn it!"

"Lea!" Sora burst into the room and grabbed him by the wrist. "What are you still _doing_ back here?! We have to go, now!"

"Hey, that's…" Sora looked up at the stoic silver Nobody as it drew his swords, understanding on his face. He shook his head at Lea and pulled him back to the door. "I think its made up its mind, Lea. And if you won't make up yours, then I'm deciding for you. Come on!"

 _ **It has been an honor to fight alongside you.**_

The last thing Lea saw of the Samurai was a red dog-faced shield coming down upon it and a horrifying, trembling battle cry:

"KWEH!"

Kweh?

"KWEH!"

Lea's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring into the face of terror itself. With blue eyes that bored into his soul and a golden crown protruding from its head, the beast was like something out of a nightmare. It reared back and spread its massive wings wide, then scraped its deadly taloned feet against the earth and opened its horrifying beak.

"Kweh!"

Letting out a startled cry at the razor-clawed monster, Lea scurried back and tried to climb up to his feet, scattering hay everywhere as he did so. In his hurry his foot slipped, knocking him backwards and pinning him against the wooden planks of the back wall while the vicious creature approached. Holding his hand out, Lea conjured a ball of flame and tried to hide his relief as the beast halted, its beak that could gore a man opening and closing as it investigated the flame.

"Easy, now. Steady." Lea continued to hold the fire toward the beast, not keeping his eyes off of it as he slowly reached his free hand up, grabbed at a gap in the planks, and pulled himself up. Still disoriented and questioning how he got here, Lea spared a moment to break away from the savage beast and take in surroundings. He was in a closed wooden space with hay littering the ground, and the only exit, a gate, had the beast standing between him and it.

He couldn't actually use the fire, this whole place would go up in flames with him in it. Holding the fireball toward the beast, he slowly began to sidestep his way along the wall, doing his best to reach the gate without touching the fiendish creature. When Lea had to dismiss the fireball to steady himself, however, the creature let out another cry and moved toward him, sticking its face in his and practically knocking Lea over with its feathery body.

"H-Hey! Get off of me! I'm warning you, I can and will set this place on fire!"

"Aww, Boco's just saying hello!"

Stopping his struggling for a moment by grabbing the beast's beak and keeping it snapped shut, Lea looked over the shoulder of the monster and saw a newcomer leaning on the gate with a smile and messy brown hair.

"…I'm not a fan of chocobos," Lea grumbled as he nervously slipped past the creepy, horse-sized bird and moved toward the gate. "And who are you?"

Still smiling, the stranger rested his chin in both hands as he leaned his elbows on the gate. "I think I should probably be the one asking that question." He stood up and undid the padlock on the gate, letting Lea out and giving an unobstructed view of the slim brunet dressed in white and blue. As Lea left the chocobo's stable, the stranger patted it on the head and fed it a handful of gysahl greens. "I'm Bartz Klauser, I'm the stable boy for these guys. And this is my good pal Boco!"

"Kweh!" Boco's cry spat up a gysahl green onto Lea's shoulder, and he peeled off the disgusting, slobber-covered plant to drop it on the hay.

"Name's Lea."

Bartz's mouth formed into an "o" and he brought his fist down into his open palm. "Oh! Lea like the Lea who helps the Restoration Committee out, that Lea?"

Lea couldn't help but grin. "Oh, so my reputation is starting to precede me, huh?"

Bartz's eyes suddenly hardened, a deep frown crossed his face, and he pressed two fingers to his forehead. When he spoke, his voice was much lower—and much more familiar. "'That Lea sure does pick the worst times to run off. Doesn't he know that we're short-handed for this project as is?'"Lea blinked as Bartz reverted to his previous good-natured self and laughed. "I heard that from Leon a while back."

Lea chuckled. "Well, you're damn good at impressions, I'll give you that. Sounded just like him. Though I'm not part of the Committee, I just give 'em a hand from time to time."

"Yeah, I figured it was like that or else Leon'd be a lot angrier about you slacking off." Lea snorted before Bartz continued. "And thanks, I've been practicing! Here, how about this." Bartz spread his legs apart and placed his hands on his hips. Once more his expression shifted completely from that of a jovial jokester, this time to a smug smirk as he stared down his nose at Lea. "'No one can stop me, I'm the best, most attractive person around!'"

As opposed to before, Bartz's voice had this time successfully gone several pitches _higher_. Lea let out a low, impressed whistle and slowly clapped his hands. "Hey there, Yuffie."

Bartz broke character and pumped a fist in the air. "Awesome, you guessed right away! That means I'm getting good!"

"Sorry, I was saying hi to her." Lea pointed a finger and Bartz whirled around to see two oncoming teenagers wearing the Akademeia uniform, both of them watching with confusion.

"Oh! H-Hey, Yuffie!" Bartz laughed awkwardly and backed up as they approached.

"'Most attractive', huh?" Yuffie perfectly mimicked Bartz's earlier mimicry of her. "Glad to hear it!"

"I-I mean, I was just trying to copy your ego…"

"My what?!"

Yuffie began to chase the chocobo keeper around to the sound of Boco's laughing kwehs, but her companion didn't join in. Ventus walked over to Lea and investigated the hay in his hair and on his back. "Were you lying in the chocobo pens?"

Lea grimaced and brushed some of the hay off then started working on his hair. "I spent the better part of the night there, apparently."

'Apparently'?" Ven replied with a laugh.

"Man, I don't even know." Lea gave up on getting the hay out of his hair piece by piece and just ruffled both his hands through the red locks, making a mess but getting the job done. "I had a really weird dream that woke me up in the middle of the night. I went for a walk and I guess at some point I musta passed out in that chicken coop."

"What was it?"

"Huh?"

"The dream. What was it about?"

"Uh…" Lea frowned. What _was_ the dream about? He could barely even remember, he just recalled waking up feeling sick and like he had misplaced something—something important. "Well, let's see… I was in Twilight Town, talking to Roxas, and we talked about just random stuff. Just shooting the breeze, you know. Then, hm…"

What had he seen after that? Lea didn't even know himself, even with what vague recollections he had. After Roxas had vanished, all of Twilight Town had gone with it. He'd been somewhere dark, but where exactly it was—if it was anywhere at all—Lea couldn't tell. He'd been ankle-dep in seawater, of that Lea could be sure. And there was ticking like a clock, and something about a fox, or a bear…? Flashes of black hair, too. Then he'd just woken up scared.

"Sorry, Ven. I honestly don't remember much of anything about it."

Ven shrugged. "Well, a dream is just a dream, usually. Even nightmares."

"Yeah, I guess so. Sure did a number on me to wake me up like that, though." Lea rolled his neck and shoulders, trying to fight off the stiffness from his rest in the chocobo pen. "I usually sleep like a log." A pause, then he looked down at the short blond. "So, where are you headed off to? Home?"

Ven shook his head. "Nah, Aqua wouldn't be home yet and I don't want to just hang out by myself. I'm headed over to Merlin's with Yuffie."

Hearing her name, Yuffie got up off of Bartz who she had pinned to the ground and jogged over to the two of them. "Yup! You wanna come along, Lea?"

"What about me?" Bartz whined from the ground behind her.

"I didn't invite you!" Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him then turned back to Lea and continued on as if Bartz hadn't spoken up. "Well?"

"…Actually, yeah, that sounds good." Lea rolled his shoulders one more time then motioned for Yuffie and Ven to lead the way. "Later, Butz!"

"H-Hey! It's Bartz!" Bartz sighed as they went off without him, then shrugged and smiled. "Oh well. You win some you lose some, right Boco?"

"Kweh!"

Trailing behind Yuffie and Ven, Lea's focus was more internal than external as he continued to try and dredge up what he could about his dream last night. He didn't normally dwell on them, but something about this one just bugged him really badly. Like there was some piece of it clawing at the back of his mind, calling out for him to remember it.

 _Let's see…_

Dark, unknown area. Ankle-high water. An echoing, ticking clock. A bear, a fox…not the animals, no. Masks. Masks of five different animals were visible through the darkness, on the edge of—of light, yes. It was daybreak, wherever he was. But in the other direction, away from the masks, was the source of the echoing ticks. A figure in the Organization's black coat, short, maybe a tad taller than Roxas. In his hand he held onto the limp arm of—

 _b̴̦̝̙̤̼͆͒̔ͣ̍̓ͬ͋l̼̟̍̄ͦͨ̆͆ͬ̊̀͝a̡̞̮̟̝̮ͤ̂̽̎́͑c̻͓͉̜̗͍̟̪̮͆̋ͦ̿̍͑̊͠k̨̹̰̀̈̉ͦ̾͒ͩ̓ ̹͙͔̄ͨ͢h̡͔̟̜̪ͩ͗̈́ͦ̊͑ͪͥͅą̥̝̎̈́͗ͨ͞i̧͚̣̿̏̐͟r̤̮̩̼ͧͯ̉͟,̧̜̯̻̘̠͙̥̩̳̌̓̌ͤ̓ͥ͋͘ ̸̩̭̫͊͌̀̍ͅb͕͇̰͈̳̫ͩ͂̌l̈́ͤ͒̐ͪ̑ͥ҉̟̼͟u̵̪̎̇̂͗̃̆e̻̼̼͌͆̓̂́́̚͡ ͭ҉̟̫̠͇̻ͅe̛ͨ̋҉̲̜̠̟͓y͙̭̱͚̱̪ͪͨͯ̿͡e͔̻̗͔͉͇͈ͧ̔̂̊́͝ͅs̘̫͔̲̺̙̭̙̱̀ͥͣ̄̈́̔̅ͬ,̸̨̡͚̮̳͋̂ͣ̀̋ͬ̆ ͖̤̣͖̳͍̞̺̏̋ͣ̂̾͘ͅs̸͓̆ͮͬ̕t̬͕̟̙͍̥̂̕͞a̦̳ͬ͂ͫ̊̉ͧ̊t̡̩͎̐̌̋̽͋̒͘ỉ̡͈̮̩̹ͮ̾̾̓̽̓̋̌͟c̵̰̪̜̠̖͎̞͙̍͑̆̅ͨͭ͂_

Weapons clashed. Lea's own chakrams and a familiar gunblade. Squall's. They were surrounded by blue stone, fighting on one of the mountain paths leading into the Great Maw outside of town. Lea remembered the fight vividly, it had been when Maleficent and Organization XIII had pitted their forces against each other. But why was it in his dre—

 _Leon started to grind his teeth in frustration. This conversation wasn't getting him anywhere. "What is it the Organization is after here, anyway? Why is this war being fought?"_

 _Axel shrugged. "To take the Heartless from Maleficent, and also to get X͗͒͊̾͏̷̡̮į͉͈̪͙̫̲̣̦͂̏͠͞ǫ̪͙̪̼̬̯͎̩̯̎ͥ̋̈͡n̫̳͉̞͈͒̔̏͛ and Sora to…never mind. I'm not telling."_

"X̃̓̑̏ͯͧ̉ͭ͞͏̣̗̼̣͖̞ͅí̮̫͇͖̼͙̣̇̀ͨơ̇ͫ̑҉̭̭̱ńͭ̈̆̉҉͖͍͕ _and Sora? What do you guys have planned?"_

 _Axel scoffed. "Heh, 'you guys…' Sorry, but you've got it all wrong this time. I'm done with them. Where's X̸̰͖̲̄͋͌̒̅͐̍͂i̷̧ͦ̾ͯ҉̻̟̻o̷͙̺̺̮̬ͫ̂n̛̹̹̭̪͉̋ͥͧ̉ͦͪͭ̕? You seen_ ḧ́̐̇͐͞͏̵̱̭̦̻̠͓̲̙e̠̯̋̿̓̄͠rͨ̋ͤ҉̛͖͈̹̫̯̳̤͖̀ _around?"_

 _"Why should I tell you?" Leon's finger was on Revolver's trigger. He was ready to fire at a moment's notice._

 _"Because as long as the Organization is near, s̡̖̓͋̃̐ḣ̶̳̦̦̯̰̹͈̣ͩ̋̍e̻͚͍̱͈͕͊͛͞ͅͅ'̧̣̳̹͎̹̮̠ͯ̈ͮ͑̆͜͝ŝ̮͗͋ͧ̊̄ͮ̕͜͡ in danger."_

 _"Why do you care?"_

 _Axel sighed, walked right up to Leon, and looked him in the eyes. "Because_ s͊̃ͪ̏ͧ̑͏̧̲̙̜̗̮h̴̳̻̯͍͉̱̓̀e͌͏͉̤̱̘̰̯'̵͉̱̫̮̞͍̳͍ͭ̑ͥͧ̃͌̽̚͢͡ş̺̙̼͖̲̼̰͇̾̈́ _my_ _friend_ _."_

Lea grasped at his head. A name… Whose name? A friend? He only had two friends there in Hollow Bastion that day, Sora and… Saïx. Saïx, who had killed Axel during that battle when he had stepped in to save Sora. Was it Saïx he had spoken about to Squall? That was the only person who it possibly could be.

Lea grimaced. He had to talk to Squall.

 **x-x-x**

Reeve sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm just trying to be a team player here."

"And I'm telling you you're the only one on that team, Reeve."

"Leon, be reasonable!" Reeve held his hands out imploringly. "The slums have plagued our world for nearly a century now. It's about time we cleaned them up, and we need the room. There's a lot more than students living in Akademeia's dorms, for example!

"Reeve, how am I not being reasonable? The people need priorities. Everyone has a place to live, even if we are lacking for space at the moment. What we need to focus on is stable food and water."

Reeve almost looked like he was about to protest, then slumped back into his seat. "Fine, let's talk about that for now, then. But I'm not giving up on this priority, Leon."

"I admire your devotion, I'll give you that." Leon tapped a spot on the map of Radiant Garden; a map not just of the city, but its surroundings as well. "We're currently raising chocobos with the help of an expert. He's a weird guy, but he knows his stuff. Once they're fit, we can send them off to the farms in the east and start the hard work."

Reeve nodded and tugged on his goatee. "That'd boost production for sure. But what about this? What are we going to do for water supply?" He turned his attention to a large section south of the city. Radiant Garden had been built on the shores of Lake Poescas, which was fed by a multitude of rivers coming from the snowy southern mountains. Eventually that lake had become the Rising Falls, but now it was gone. Unfortunately, the world had been so inundated with darkness that even being restored by Kingdom Hearts hadn't been able to bring everything back. Lake Poescas was just a dried lakebed now, and the snow-capped peaks weren't so snow-capped anymore to provide the water that had formed it. "As you know, we're just gathering water from rain and nearby streams. It's not enough."

"Aqua and Merlin are helping a bit, but they can only conjure so much." Leon moved the map aside and held up some notes on Materia manufacturing. "What do you think of this, Reeve?"

Reeve frowned and took the papers. His frown deepened even more as he examined them. "Conjuring water with Water Materia? A good idea in theory, Leon, but we don't have any factories to make Materia. And if I'm being frank I don't understand the first thing these papers say."

Leon couldn't help but crack a smile. "Don't worry, neither do I. Cid says he gets some of it, though. And we know where to find someone who does."

Someone who does? Materia manufactory was a closely-guarded secret of the state, known to only a select few of the Bastion. They were widespread and incredibly convenient to the people of Radiant Garden before the fall, but too potentially dangerous to allow any Joe off the street to make them. The only person around today who knew how the process worked would be…

"You can't be serious."

"Desperate times, desperate measures."

Reeve shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leon, he's _dangerous_. Him and everyone else in that prison. Or did you forget everything they did to Sora and all the worlds? To _this_ world?"

"Of course not." Leon tried to keep his voice steady, but his clenched fists betrayed him. "But the fact remains that Ienzo is the only person alive who knows the full details of how Materia is made. We need his help, Reeve. It's the only way to get a steady water supply."

Reeve relented. Damn it, Leon was right. He sighed and slumped back in his seat. "Okay," he said with a wave of his hand. "Okay. But let me be the one to talk to them. They won't talk to you, not as someone who fought against Organization XIII."

"And you think you'll do much better?"

Now it was Reeve's turn to smile. "Former head of urban development, remember? I spent a lot of time at the Bastion. Even if I never really spoke to the apprentices, they know my face. And more importantly, I wasn't someone fighting against them."

Leon grimaced. "You may have a point." He tapped his fingers against the table then sighed. "Okay, Reeve. As you say. Take that sheet and head down to the prison, I assume you know the way?"

"I know this city inside and out, same as you." Reeve pocketed the paper and stood up, holding his hands out to Leon. "Until next time, Leon. I seriously hope you consider rebuilding the slums."

"One step at a time." But Leon did shake his hand and opened the door to let Reeve out into the front room of Merlin's house. To the two men's' surprise, it was more crowded than earlier. Marlene was in the corner playing with her new Cait Sith doll and Cid was still at the coffee table, but now the kitchen was occupied by Yuffie and Ventus. The latter was dressed in his school uniform, while the former had evidently changed back into her regular outfit as soon as she got through the door judging by the black jacket lying forgotten on the stairs.

"Pardon me, kids," Reeve said as he passed the two of them.

"Oh!" Marlene jumped up and waved goodbye. "Bye, Mr. Tuesti!"

"I told you, it's just Reeve!" The man's laughter lit up Merlin's house even as the front door closed behind him.

Ven had only given Reeve the barest of acknowledgment while Yuffie had ignored him entirely, the two of them all wrapped up in what Leon guessed to be homework. Marlene had gone back to the Cait Sith, too. Sighing, Leon sat down next to Cid.

"Biggs and Wedge aren't back yet?"

"Nope. Probably got lost on the way there, knowing them." Cid still had a cup of tea in front of him. How many did that make today? "I wouldn't rest easy though, Leon. You got a house call to make."

"What?"

"Lea came by here with Ventus and Yuffie, but he didn't stick around long. Just long enough to say he wanted to speak to you ASAP. 'Tell Squall to get his butt up to the bailey as soon as he's done', he said."

"Yeah, he seemed really serious!" Leon heard Ven chime in from the other end of the room behind him.

"Ven, stop looking away and help me with this dumb math problem!" Yuffie hissed.

Leon paid no attention to the loud crashes and Ven's pained shouts occurring behind him, he was too focused on what Cid had said. Lea wanted to see him? Why? The two of them had barely interacted at all over the last year, and while Lea helped the Restoration Committee out on more than one occasion he had absolutely refused to become a full member. So what did he need Leon for now?

"You going or what? Spiky doesn't usually get ahold of you, Leon. It's typically the other way around."

"Yeah, Cid. I'm going." Leon stood back up, excused himself as he moved past Marlene, and exited out onto the streets of Radiant Garden. The bailey right near Merlin's house had been built up quite a bit, and now instead of a view of a rocky blue wasteland it looked out over a field of flowers that gave way to a dense, green forest. But Lea wasn't waiting for him _within_ the bailey; rather, he was _atop_ it, facing the city with his feet dangling over open air.

"What are you doing up there?" Leon called up to him.

"Come join me and maybe I'll tell you," came the reply. Leon rolled his eyes but complied, climbing up the bricks that made up the wall and hoisting himself up onto the roof of the bailey alongside Lea. He half expected the fiery redhead to have a bar of that ice cream he loved so much, but he was actually holding a can of, of all things, beer. Another can came flying Leon's way and he caught Lea's toss without missing a beat.

"You gonna sit down or what?" Lea turned away from Leon to look back out over the city.

Shrugging, Leon sat down next to Lea and popped the can open. "What's this all about?"

Lea took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His voice grew quiet. "I…had this dream last night…"


	3. Artificial

**Chapter 3: Artificial**

 _The weather on the Carteneau Plains this night fit the mood so appropriately that it was eerie. The air was deadly still and all animal life was completely quiet, as if the land itself was anticipating and fearing what was about to happen. The sky, the stars and moon, were obscured by a thick ceiling of pitch black clouds. It had not begun raining, not yet, but the air tingled as if preparing for a storm. The only light came from the torches of the surrounding men, the firelight making their shadows dance before it faded off into the distant fog._

" _I close my eyes, tell us why must we suffer?"_

 _Nervous voices rose up around the assembled men, an old song to calm their nerves as battle approached. What began as a single faceless voice quickly swept through the ranks, until every soldier from the lowliest enlisted man to the most decorated general was singing in a low rumble. The army of Radiant Garden remained somber out here in Carteneau, but their voices never faltered once as the assembled crowds stared out to face the fog with sweaty hands gripping their weapons._

" _Release your hands, for your will drags us under."_

 _Radiant Garden's entire might had assembled on the plains of Mor Dhona, a mountainous desert region, with the intent of finishing the war that had plagued their kingdom for years. The neighboring kingdom of Onrac, a techno-magical society on par with Radiant Garden, had long sought to expand its borders. Onrac had conquered much of the known world, leaving the city-state of Radiant Garden one of the only independents left. And when Onrac encroached on them with the intent of taking their bountiful, beautiful lands, Radiant Garden had fought back without a second thought. Thus began the War of the Magi._

" _My legs grow tired, tell us where must we wander?"_

 _Movement in the fog. The men of Radiant Garden shifted but did not charge forward, not without their superiors' word. From out of the fog came the forces of Onrac, their soldiers as mortal as Radiant Garden's own and no doubt just as scared. A thought passed through the minds of several Garden soldiers: Were they, too, singing a song for support? No matter what the outcome, both sides knew full well that this would be the final battle of the War of the Magi and bring an end to years of conflict._

" _How can we carry on if redemption's beyond us?"_

 _Near the front of Radiant Garden's army a large, armored figure knelt in the dusty dirt of Carteneau. He did not sing along with the rest of the soldiers, nor did he stand shoulder to shoulder with them. His was a special case. Resting his masked forehead against the massive, segmented broadsword, Radiant Garden's secret weapon—Garland—looked as though he praying and trembling. But his stalwart demeanor could not be further from the truth. The immortal super soldier, bioengineered by Cid Lufaine in the halls of the Bastion, was eager to prove himself in his first real battle. To show his strength to those weaker than he. He was trembling not in fear, but in excitement._

 _The men's singing stopped. Onrac's army ceased advancing and stood across the plain from Radiant Garden's. At the head of Radiant Garden's army, one of the generals raised his hand and the soldiers watched in a nervous anticipation. The anticipation did not last long. A mere moment later, the general swiftly brought his hand down with a slice through the air. The heralds at his side, holding the banner of Radiant Garden high, blew loudly into their trumpets and the soldiers let out a mighty cheer. With a roar, Radiant Garden's forces charged forward into Carteneau._

 _They were met by an equally loud battle cry from Onrac's forces who also barreled down onto the dead field. The armies met in the center of the wastes, weapons clashing immediately. The first among them fell right away, their comrades forced to trample their corpses as battle began. Blades bled and shields shattered as the uncountable forces began their rampage at the heart of Mor Dhona. Both sides fought valiantly and for home, family, and to bring an end to the strife of the War of the Magi._

 _Cries of pain and anger rose up among both sides, though the battle could hardly be said to be divided into 'sides' anymore in the chaos of it. Radiant Garden and Onrac both shifted back and forth in a sea of men and steel, neither force either relenting or gaining ground. Swords and battleaxes sang as they swung through the air alongside lances that pierced several men at a time. Arrows rained down from above, the archers safe in the back lines. Armored chocobos barreled through the battle lines, knocking men aside and onto the ground._

 _Amidst the combat, great explosions rocked large swaths of land. Beams of energy fired from behind Onrac's lines, behind even their archers, as the encroaching empire's magi-technology machina cannons fired on the forces of Radiant Garden._ _Large machina walkers bearing a vague and passing resemblance to chocobos_ _made their way slowly into the fray with riders on their backs, but their lack of speed was made up for by the variety of weapons firing Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder magic._

 _But Radiant Garden met Onrac's machina with spells of their own. Row upon row of spell casters channeled magic spell after magic spell, raining destruction upon Onrac and healing their allies when they had the chance. Domes of interlocking hexagons defended men from the machina cannons. And for those who could not naturally control mana and so had trouble casting spells, there was Materia, a recent invention of Radiant Garden's that allowed absolutely anyone to cast magic. Spells flew through the air on both sides, lighting up the night as if it were the middle of the day._

 _Garland stormed through both clashing armies, swinging his broadsword wildly, breaking apart the segments and whipping it back and forth as a massive chain, or crushing it into nearby fighters as a heavy war hammer. Friend and foe alike fell to Garland, he cared not whether they were Onrac or Radiant Garden. His goal was to win. To be the best, and to embrace the endless cycle of battle that was the truth of the world._

 _He swung his sword out in a wide circle, felling three combatants in a row without bothering to look at the colors they sported. Before their corpses had even hit the ground Garland quickly spun in the opposite direction and cleaved a fourth soldier in half. Without missing a beat he ran forward, dragging the tip of his blade along the earth, and then brought it up to parry the blow from an Onrac swordsman. The swordsman's own weapon was knocked high into the air and Garland wasted no time in exploiting the opening, swiftly bringing his sword down on the surprised soldier and beheading him._

 _Without a second glance, Garland moved on from the fallen man and continued into the fray undaunted. Arrows and spells rained down around him, felling soldier after soldier but only bouncing off of his own armor. Garland increased in speed, shoving aside Radiant Garden's men with his shoulders and raising his broadsword up with both hands. He held the massive weapon up behind his shoulder and then leaped into the air before throwing it out, spinning around once more and extending the sword into its chain form to increase its range, lashing at everyone in the area with a giant steel whip. When Garland landed back on the ground, his heavy armor kicking up dust, he retracted the chain and used his momentum to spin once more, never ceasing. His sword kicked up a tornado that tossed men every which way and carried him up into the sky. Hefting the sword up above his head, Garland brought it down on the head of one of the walking machina armor as he fell._

 _Garland's blade struck its power source and the machina exploded, hurling a fireball out and up, forcing everyone locked in combat to halt and flee. Amidst the smoke and debris, Garland caught sight of another figure calmly approaching him through the flames as if out for a morning stroll. Like Garland he was clad head to toe in armor, though of a shade of silver so dark it was almost black. He held two small swords, on in each hand, and a black cape billowed behind him with the mark of Onrac emblazoned upon it. But it was the newcomer's horned helmet which identified him, the unmistakable mark of a Judge Magister—the military leaders of Onrac. This could only be Judge Gabranth._

 _Gabranth stopped in the center of the clearing in the battlefield that the exploding machina had created and attached his two swords into a weapon resembling a dual-bladed polearm. Beneath his own mask, Garland smirked; armor does not hide the weakness of one's heart. He lifted his own sword and met Gabranth's silent challenge with a silent agreement, approaching the Judge head-on. Their clashing weapons kicked up a powerful wind that put out the lingering flames from the machina explosion and caught the attention of the closest soldiers, though the battle continued to rage above and around them._

 _Garland swept his sword upward and knocked Gabranth high into the air, though the Judge righted himself with a flip and his weapon flashed a dangerous orange. As Garland leaped up ready to slam him back to the ground with his sword-turned-hammer, Gabranth struck first and jabbed his polearm forward. Despite the thin weapon not being designed for mighty blows, it struck Garland with a surprising, inexplicable amount of force and sent him flying back. As Garland recovered and dived right back into the fray, he noted that Gabranth was continuing to hold his weapon in front of him and the orange aura had stretched across his body._

 _Garland's next swing was dodged, but he split his sword into two and swung out to strike Gabranth in the side. Toppling the Judge over and breaking his concentration left him open for an attack from the other half, followed by a mighty swing from the sword once it was recombined. Garland then jumped into the air and released his sword's locks, transforming it into its whip form, but Gabranth rolled out of the way and once more his polearm flashed orange._

 _Garland pursued the judge, but Gabranth whirled around and attacked him again, jabbing twice then breaking his polearm apart and slashing several times with both swords. Once the weapons recombined, Gabranth once more held it out in front of him defensively and was again surrounded by the orange aura. Garland did not intend on giving him the opportunity to finish whatever it was he was charging. Transforming his sword into a whip once more, Garland roared and lashed out at Gabranth (as well as about a dozen soldiers), knocking him in the head with the tip of the chain. Gabranth turned his fall into a roll, but was lashed by the whip once more and pulled back toward Garland who awaited with his weapon transformed into a hammer._

 _The hammer came down, sundering the earth at their feet, but Gabranth got away. Garland did manage to catch his cape in the attack, however, tearing at it and tripping Gabranth up. One last time Gabranth was surrounded by the orange glow, and now it stayed as he split his polearm into the two swords once more. He slashed rapidly at Garland, who ate each and every blow; they were nothing to the stalwart knight. When Gabranth slammed the two swords to the ground and sent out a shockwave, however, Garland found himself flung back into the wall of fighting soldiers. He roared and knocked away the men with his sword before charging back at Gabranth._

 _Broadsword met polearm and sparks flew in the middle of the Carteneau Plains, the two greatest champions of Onrac's and Radiant Garden's armies doing battle. Booming laughter erupted out of Garland despite himself. Truly this man was a challenge to behold! Good! Perhaps here, battling another masked soldier amidst bloodshed with spells flying above them, Garland could at last achieve his deepest desire, his final fantasy._

 _But those thoughts would have to wait._

 _A massive explosion, several magnitudes greater than that which Garland had caused by destroying the machina, shook not only Carteneau but all of Mor Dhona. Soldiers ceased their battles and turned to face the source: a pillar of fire that erupted out of the ground, spewing red-hot rock everywhere and causing them to rain down on the battlefield. With a terrifying roar, something began to climb it way out of the fire, something with aspects both reptilian and canine, with devil-like horns and a long, flowing red mane. Screams rose up from Radiant Garden's defenders as the monster made itself known…followed by cheers from Onrac's forces. And from both sides, one name rang out above the cacophony: Ifrit, Eidolon of Fire._

 _Amidst the screams and Ifrit's roars, a terrifying tornado swept up in the back of Radiant Garden's lines, blowing out spells, scattering arrows, and picking up soldiers to toss them into the rocky cliffs around the edges of the plain. The tornado flashed a brilliant green before it vanished, revealing its source to be a vaguely humanoid female figure, only far too tall to be human. Garuda, Eidolon of Wind, had pale green feathers coating its entire body, four massive wings on its back, and razor-sharp talons in place of its hands. Garuda let out an echoing screech and sent a whirlwind through Radiant Garden's forces, sending even more soldiers flying to painful, sudden deaths._

 _At the point where the whirlwind stopped, massive pillars of ice erupted out of the earth and then shattered, sending razor-sharp shards raining down on Radiant Garden's forces. Shiva, Eidolon of Ice, was the last of the three to manifest. Like Garuda, it was humanoid and feminine in appearance; unlike Garuda, it was a pale blue color. Its blue hair was frozen at the tips, and a cloak of icy mist flowed down from its back. The temperature plummeted to freezing levels just from its presence. Shiva extended its hands out and snapped its fingers, freezing a section of the army instantly. With a wave of its hand, the frozen soldiers shattered._

 _The Eidolons were Onrac's secret weapon. They were unnatural creatures of pure mana, primal aspects created and summoned by secrets known only to Onrac's military. The entire reason that Radiant Garden had invented Matera, and even created Garland, was for the purpose of combating the beasts. But while they were monstrous and powerful, the Eidolons were not invincible. Radiant Garden's remaining soldiers rallied to the challenge when Garland, with a battle cry that sounded across the Carteneau Plains, continued to battle Gabranth in defiance of the Eidolons' summoning._

 _Their match continued in the middle of the apocalypse. Ifrit, Shiva, and Garuda all entered the fray, sending horrifying blizzards, raging infernos, and terrible whirlwinds every which way, killing hundreds of soldiers. Throughout it all, Garland and Gabranth continued to fight. They leaped out of the way of Garuda as it charged through the battlefield with winds kicking up around her; rolled under Ifrit as it leapt this way and that, causing volcanic eruptions wherever it touched the ground; and they shattered Shiva's blades of ice as it conducted a macabre dance across the plains._

 _But they were finally halted when a massive pillar of light erupted out on the horizon, lighting up Mor Dhona as bright as day for a single instant. All sound ceased as the forces of both Onrac and Radiant Garden, the Eidolons included, turned to the horizon in time to hear a mighty roar that shook the earth. The roar was mighty enough to kick up winds rivaling Garuda's own, and it was accompanied by an explosion that shattered entire mountains in the distance. The explosive shockwave toppled most soldiers and_ evaporated _those nearer to its source as the creature that had caused the destruction made itself known in a most devastating way._

 _Fire rained from the heavens, triggering explosions as they landed both in the distance and within the battlefield. Horrified screams rose up among soldiers of both sides and weapons clattered to the ground, their war forgotten as men scrambled desperately to save their lives. Pillars of smoke rose up from the scorched earth, growing in number with each explosion. The clouds above had turned from black to a deep orange, as if the sky itself was on fire. And amidst it all, a dragon on a scale nearly incomprehensible flew through the skies with its wings stretched to their fullest._

 _No longer entertaining his duel, Garland swiftly transformed his sword into a hammer and crashed it into Gabranth's gut, sundering his armor and shattering several bones. As Gabranth fell to the earth, Garland turned to face the creature and recalled the debriefing the armies of Radiant Garden had gotten before setting out for the battle this night. Radiant Garden had been working on creating the ultimate Eidolon, a beast of destruction so all-powerful that it could only be called a living, breathing natural disaster. They had codenamed the project 'Ultima WEAPON'. This…_ thing _could be nothing else._

" _Bahamut," Gabranth managed to say amidst wheezing breaths, "will end you all."_

 _With a flap of its wings and another deafening Roar, Bahamut sent out more fireballs, uncountable in number, which crashed into everything in sight. They flew as if bound to its will, flying this way and that, swerving around Ifrit, Shiva, and Garuda and hitting locations across Carteneau that would cause the most damage and highest casualties. As with Garland, Bahamut did not care in the least bit whether it killed forces of its own side or the enemy's. When Bahamut swept low over the ground, the heat radiating off of its body caused the earth to transform into molten rock, consuming the fleeing soldiers that had stood upon it._

 _When one of the fireballs came barreling toward Garland, the stalwart knight stood his ground and batted it away with his broadsword, sending it flying into a nearby mountainside. The subsequent explosion nearly knocked him off of his feet, but he planted the tip of his weapon into the ground to stabilize him. Once the wind died down Garland slowly raised his head to find himself face to face with destruction itself._

 _Bahamut hovered before Garland, its eyes as large as a man focused on him. It unfurled its wings to their full length, in doing so kicking up a wind that pushed away the dust and smoke created by its rain of destruction. A low rumbling came from the back of its throat that escalated into another roar, though not one as loud as earlier. Garland grinned behind his helmet; here was another super soldier created for the sole purpose of destroying the enemy. Here was a kindred spirit._

 _Here was a challenge._

 _There was no need to hold back. Garland's body contorted beneath his armor, straining the polished metal and causing it to snap or even shatter at various points. A second pair of arms burst out from his sides, their flesh yellow-brown that gave way to red at the extremities. The horns of his helmet shattered next, revealing real, biological red horns beneath them that continued to grow. As pieces of metal fell to his feet, Garland dropped his sword to the earth. His body increased in size, growing too large for the armor to contain him though not anywhere near as large as Bahamut. Before it was shed entirely, two wings broke out of his back and tore at his cape._

 _Seeing Garland's transformation, Bahamut reacted. Fire began to form in its massive jaws and around it. More meteors flew in from all around them, meeting the flames Bahamut was conjuring and coalescing into a massive orb above its head as it reared back. The light consumed everything in the vicinity, making the massive Eidolon the only being visible for miles around. The sheer power of Bahamut's charging spell caused trembling rocks to lift off the earth._

 _Garland's helmet fell to the earth beside his sword._

 _Bahamut launched Teraflare._

 **x-x-x**

"…after a terrifying battle Garland destroyed Onrac's unstoppable weapon, thus bringing a decisive end to the War of the Magi. What little of Onrac's forces remained surrendered right then and there, in the destroyed Carteneau Plains of Mor Dhona."

The lights were dim in Ansem the Wise's study as only a single bulb illuminated the small room. The damage that had been done by time and numerous invaders had been cleaned, but more for the sake of finding anything hidden than out of any desire to restore the room to the way it had used to be. With a pile of history books and research journals sitting beside her, a woman in a black suit sat atop the desk and flipped through the tome she held in her hands.

"But Garland did not stop there. With his true power unleashed, he went on a rampage nearly comparable to that of the Ultima WEAPON. Cid Lufaine's ultimate creation killed thousands, not only soldiers but innocents as well, of both Onrac and Radiant Garden. In one night, Garland wiped Onrac from the map. He was stopped by the top magi of the Bastion, who forcefully constrained his mutations and imprisoned him in new binding armor of Cid Lufaine's design. As Garland could not die even from execution, he was locked away forever beneath the Bastion, dubbed the False Stalwart for the fury and chaos he held behind that unmoving metal mask."

Cissnei closed the book and set it down on the pile next to her. Hopping down off of Ansem's desk, Cissnei picked up the books as well as a folder of her own notes she had taken during her research. Garland was a subject that had fascinated her ever since he appeared at the final battle with Xehanort alongside Maleficent's lackeys Diablo and Pete. Most of the research had come from the vast library near the top of the Bastion, but this one was kept within Ansem's study; the study she was all too willing to leave, it was downright creepy being down here all alone.

Cissnei put the books and her notes into a bag and slung it over her shoulder, ready to report to Leon. With Maleficent still out there, Garland was as well, and he was the most unknown of her forces. They needed to be ready for next time. And as Cissnei opened the door to make her way out of the castle and back to town, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with another pair of Bastion delvers. Or rather, face-to-chest. Cissnei craned her neck up to smile at Biggs, the friendly giant with pale green skin, then looked down and stepped aside for little Wedge with his two-toned hair to come on in.

"Hello, Cissnei," Biggs greeted as he crouched down to fit under the door frame.

"Hey, you two. Cid send you here?"

"We're supposed to get some part for him," Wedge said as he struggled to climb up on top of Ansem's desk. "Something for the Claymore defenses."

Cissnei couldn't help but giggle. "You still haven't fixed that? Here, it's probably this thing." Cissnei reached into her bag, digging for a device on the bottom that she had found earlier; knowing Cid would have wanted it, she had intended to deliver it to him when she got back to town. But if Biggs and Wedge could do that, then all the better. The mechanical object Cissnei retrieved was simple in design, with wiring hooked up to a piece of purple crystal that was embedded in the center.

"Wow!" Biggs took it gently and examined it with interest. "What is it?"

"The crystal embedded into it is called 'nethicite', I think. It absorbs latent magic in the air then can be used as a power source. They used things like this for all the tech in the Bastion, like those magic lifts upstairs, but it wasn't too widespread to the public."

Wedge gasped, then jumped up and nabbed it from Biggs. "No way, _this_ is nethicite? Awesome!"

Cissnei flinched as Wedge fumbled his landing, but he kept the device from slipping out of his grasp. "Hey, easy with that. It's not exactly replaceable."

"Dangerous, too," Biggs added. "Nethicite is known to explode violently if it absorbs too much magic."

Cissnei held her hands up in front of her and took a step back. "Oookay, I'll just leave that thing with you guys, then. Don't blow up the castle now."

"We'll be fine," Wedge said as he poked and prodded at the device holding the crystal…then leaped back at the first sign of a spark.

 **x-x-x**

"'… _and_ Sora'?"

Lea grimaced at the disbelief in Leon's voice and stared down at the empty beer can in his grip as he lamely tossed it between his two hands. "So that's a no, then?"

Leon shook his head. "Sorry, I only remember talking about Sora back then. But that was, what, almost two years ago now? I doubt I remember it clearly."

"Gotta get these things memorized, Squall," Lea commented with a dry smile.

"Don't start with me." Leon took a sip of his own near-empty can and gave Lea a sidelong glance without lowering the drink. "So, if you're so set on us talking about more than just Sora, who do you think it could've been?"

Lea groaned and held his face in his palms. "That's the problem," came his muffled reply. "I wouldn't go around calling Sora's pals my own friends, but I have no idea who else would have been with him back there. I…do know that Saïx was in the Great Maw that day, but…"

"Isa, right?"

Lea's jaw set and he shook his head. "Saïx," he corrected in a cold tone. Isa was not Saïx. Isa had died a long, long time ago, and Saïx was just some empty shell that had been wearing his friend's face. Hell, even that wasn't true; the scarred and stone-cold expressions Saïx always had going were nothing like Isa. "Saïx was there that day. I know, because he killed me."

"So, what, you think it was him you were talking about back then?"

"Well I mean, there is literally no one else it could be. Roxas was already merged with Sora at that point, right?"

"Guess so," Leon stood up and adjusted his jacket.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Lea asked half-jokingly as he stood up and tossed the can over his shoulder. "We're not done yet."

"We aren't? We established that Saïx must have been who you were talking about—if you didn't make it all up, that is."

Lea rolled his eyes and tapped the side of his head. " _Yeah_ , so now we gotta figure out _why_ , Squall! Why did I care about Saïx? Why would I associate him with Sora? Where is he now?"

Leon, who had been walking off as Lea was speaking, came to a halt at that. "Say that again?"

"I know your ears work, man." Lea crossed his arms and stared out over the city, his eyes downcast and a frown tugging at his lips. "I'm back and Ansem's apprentices are back. Isa turned into a Nobody the same day as the rest of us. So…where is Isa? He should have been recompleted, same as me and them."

"That's…" Leon trailed off, then after a silent moment turned back to Lea. "That's a really good point, actually. How long after you did Ansem's apprentices show up, again?"

"A couple months. And Xaldin died right around the same time as Saïx from what Sora tells me."

"Then, yeah, he should've been restored… Reeve is probably down there now, but—"

"Hold on." Lea raised a hand to cut Leon off. "Reeve is?"

"It was my idea. We need Ienzo's knowledge of crafting Materia. Listen Lea, if you're going to say I shouldn't have then you can—"

Lea interrupted him again, this time with a shake of his head. "No, don't worry. Nothing like that. It just gave me an idea, is all. I honestly never considered actually going to talk to them about this. I haven't seen them since we locked 'em up." He snorted a laugh. "Doubt they'd be too happy to see me, though." Especially Ienzo and Even, considering Axel had killed Zexion and Vexen. Oof, that'd been an awkward reunion once the apprentices turned up in Ansem's computer room.

"Leon!" The two men turned as a voice approached them, and looked down over the edge of the bailey to see Cissnei, dressed in her Turks uniform as always, looking up at them with a bag slung over her shoulder. "And Lea? What are you two doing up there?"

"Never mind that." Leon gave Lea a short wave and then hopped down from the bailey, landing next to Cissnei. "You have something for me?"

Cissnei nodded. "Information about Garland. We knew he was artificial and immortal, but I definitely know more about him now than before." As she started digging into her bag, Lea jumped down and joined the two of them.

"Hold up. Artificial? Like, a fake human?" That sounded awfully familiar…

"Huh? Yeah, a fake human. A homunculus, I guess? That's what Even's notes on the concept called it." Cissnei flipped open a folder and thumbed through some papers. "Garland was made by Cid Lufaine to combat Onrac's Eidolons in the War of the Magi. Cid's own journals call it Project Manikin. He manipulated the body and soul, two of the three parts that make up the human body. The third is the heart, which wasn't as easy to make… Here."

Leon took the notes Cissnei handed him and looked through them himself. "So what, Garland is like a Nobody? He sure doesn't act like it, he was clearly enjoying himself our entire fight."

Cissnei shook her head. "No, not like a Nobody. The heart was a challenge, but Cid Lufaine was able to make one."

"An artificial man with a heart, huh…" Leon muttered as he continued to scan Cissnei's notes. Lea, on the other hand had a nagging feeling in the back of his head. This was _definitely_ getting familiar. Where had he heard of this before? It was on the tip of his tongue.

"Yes; or an artificial heart, anyway, to go with the artificial body and soul. Cid Lufaine created Garland by coalescing unbelievable amounts of magic into physical form, which is how Radiant Garden's scientists have always theorized that Onrac created Eidolons in the War of the Magi."

"Explain for non-history buffs, please."

Cissnei sighed. "Basically, Garland was made in the same way as the Eidolons. He's living magic given physical form. He's a…a replica of the Eidolons—"

 _Replica._

"That's it!" Lea shouted, startling both Leon and Cissnei. "I know where I've seen this before! Replicas! Man oh man, I can't believe it slipped my mind!"

"Huh?"

Lea rested a hand on his hip and grinned widely as he once more tapped the side of his head. "The Replica Program. It was this thing of Organization XIII's. Vexen—that's Even's Nobody—created a copy of Riku, with its own heart and everything. A Riku Replica."

Leon looked to Cissnei, whose brow furrowed. "If he had access to Cid Lufaine's notes, then it makes sense Even would have tried to recreate them."

"So should we worry about more of these things popping up from Organization XIII's old base?" Leon asked with a grimace.

Lea shook his head. "Nope. Riku was the only—only…functioning one…" He frowned, something nagging at the back of his head. He wasn't sure why he had hesitated there. It was definitely only the Riku Replica who had been running around in Castle Oblivion.

Right?

 **x-x-x**

"Ven, I'm home! Ven?" Aqua entered the front door of hers and Ven's small home to find that the lights were off and everything was how she had left it this morning. Ven hadn't come home from school yet? Probably at Merlin's then; she'd join him a few minutes, in that case. Aqua flipped the lights on and set the keys down on the table, moving to the kitchen to grab a quick snack. Helping Scrooge out sure works up an appetite. Ven wouldn't mind her having some of that cake he had made, right? Even if it did have a big paper on top saying hands off.

Something caught Aqua's eye, though, and she found herself stopping before she ever reached the fridge. Resting on the counter was a photograph. The sunset horizon of Destiny Islands was behind Ven and Aqua as they posed on the beach with their Wayfinders held up to each other, with Sora and Kairi holding their own charm together. Riku was in the back, sitting on the sand and staring out at the water, deliberately trying to avoid looking at the four of them in an attempt to stay 'cool'.

Aqua found herself smiling at the picture, and she picked it up than sat down in a chair by the window. It had been taken only a month after Xehanort's defeat, during a visit she and Ven made to the islands…in a search for Terra, actually. Before they had really settled down in Radiant Garden. The thought made Aqua reach for her Wayfinder, and she held its blue glass up to the sun, watching the light refract through it and send blue patterns dancing on the walls of furniture.

 _Terra…_

All this time and still no leads. She had stopped Ven from running off to find him, but every time she came home and Ven wasn't back from school yet there was always a bit of worry that he had run off again. She liked to think she knew better, and it had been a while since the last time Ven just ran off without telling her, but still…

As Aqua stared into the star-shaped charm, a sound outside caught her attention. A distant roaring. Engines? She set the picture down on a nearby end table and stood up, pocketing her Wayfinder and moving over to the window. It was definitely coming from outside, up in the sky… Oh!

Up above, the familiar sight of _Highwind_ soared toward the Gummi ship hangar.


	4. Nothing Left

**Chapter 4: Nothing Left**

Lea took a deep breath to brace himself as he stood in front of the large, bleak building built into the rocky blue mountainside. The stark white building with darkened one-way windows certainly made it look official, but at a glance no one could tell what it really was. And Leon had wanted it that way; it wouldn't do to worry the people of Radiant Garden, not when they were still busy putting their lives back together. Radiant Garden's new prison was not large, for it had only been constructed to hold a small handful of prisoners. But it had security despite its size, because that handful was incredibly dangerous.

There were two security guards posted outside the front doors, and probably more watching via camera from some control room. The two men held lances in their hands, but gripped them awkwardly, not used to the oversized weapons—or probably _any_ weapons. Adding to their less-than-imposing aura was the fact that, while they wore the dark blue-grey button-up uniform of the old Bastion guard, it was about a size too big on their spindly frames and obviously not actually made for them. At a guess, the Restoration Committee has raided the Bastion for any leftover uniforms when they reestablished the guards.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Lea quipped with a wave and a nod as he made his way to the doors of the prison. His reply was two lances crossing in front of the doors and barring his path. "Or maybe not so good. What's the deal?"

"We can't just let anyone walk into here willy-nilly," said the first guard. Lea peered at him with a frown, studying him. This kid couldn't have been any older than sixteen, tops. His hair was meticulously brushed, and he was trying way too hard to look stern.

"'Just anyone,' huh?" Lea put his hands on his hips and turned to the other, much older, guard. "Squall should have said I was coming. Name's Lea."

The two guards exchanged glances with one another, and though they lowered their weapons slightly they didn't remove them from in front of the door. The older one spoke slowly as he looked back to Lea. "Mister Leonhart did contact us, but he only said Mister Tuesti would be coming by."

Lea let loose the frown he had felt tugging at his lips the last few minutes. Really, he only told them Reeve was coming? Thanks for that. Guess he didn't see this whole thing with Isa as too important after all. Well, Lea supposed he couldn't blame him _too_ much for that. After all, it was something personal Lea was doing. Reeve was here on official business.

Still, way to help out a friend.

"Pardon?" When the older guard spoke up again, Lea realized he had said that last part out loud.

"Forget it. I don't suppose you two could let me through just this once?"

While the older guard hesitated a moment, the younger guard didn't even give it a moment's thought. "This is an official site of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, and only those with express permission from Committee heads are allowed inside. I apologize, but we will have to turn you around. Have a good day, sir."

"You read that off a notecard or something?" Lea glanced over at the elder of the pair. "Come on, be a little lax. You guys know me, I'm a friend of the Committee's founders."

"We cannot do that, sir!" said the younger guard.

The elder guard sighed. "Rules are rules, as they say. You're right: I've seen you around and know you're a friend of theirs, and I'd like to let you just walk on in, but unless we get some confirmation from people above us we can't do that."

Then the younger spoke up again. "If we let just anyone pass without the okay, even you, then that could lead to more dangerous people accessing this building."

Lea sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. For crying out loud, these two sure were sticklers. Though their hearts were in the right place at least, even if that was kind of a slippery slope analogy. Though even they didn't seem to quite understand what they were guarding, unless the kid just didn't want to say the word prison out loud. "Alright, I guess I'll go pester Squall a bit more. Be back later."

But just as Lea was about to turn on his heel and grumble his way back to Merlin's place, the front door slid open. "There's no need for that." The two guards quickly lowered their weapons and stepped aside for the man as he made his way out of the prison.

Lea crossed his arms and allowed himself a smile. "Well, well, if it isn't Reeve Tuesti himself. Squall told me you were speaking to Ienzo, but I didn't think you'd still be here."

"Hello to you too, Lea. And it was a very enlightening discussion, I must say. I think we may be moving ahead on the Materia plan after all." Wait, what? Did he mean that Ienzo was _cooperative?_ That certainly gave Lea some hope, but it didn't make much sense to him. His confusion must have been written on his face, because Reeve raised an eyebrow and asked, "Leon did mention that as well, didn't he?"

"Huh? Oh, no, yeah. He did. Briefly, anyway." Lea shook his head. "I just didn't expect anyone in there to be helpful."

Reeve chuckled. "I had hoped, but I must admit I was very surprised as well. Though I suppose when it gets right down to it, those four still want to live and know they need a steady supply of food and water to do that." Reeve chuckled once more and then rested his eyes on Lea for a short moment. "So, you're looking to speak to them as well, right?"

How the hell did he know that? "Uh, yeah, though your two guards aren't being too cooperative. I mean it's their job and all, but still…"

Reeve nodded and turned to the two of them. "It's alright, you two."

"Sir?"

"Lea's a friend. And I do have the same authority in this matter as Leon, don't I?"

The older man nodded and the younger saluted. "Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

Reeve smiled and then turned back to Lea. "There, you see? I have no idea what you plan to achieve talking to them, but it's not really any of my business, I suppose. What's the harm?"

"Guess I owe you some thanks." Lea moved forward, this time unhindered by the two guards or their lances as he moved toward the door and it slid open upon proximity.

"Think nothing of it."

"Good, then I won't." Standing in the open doorway, Lea turned around and smirked at Reeve. "That was way too opportune timing, man. How long were you listening behind the door, waiting for an opportunity to do some favor to get on Leon's good side?"

Reeve simply smiled. "I was just doing what anyone in my position would do. Have a good day Lea, gentlemen." He made his way back into town with a wave over his shoulder.

Shrugging, Lea turned back around with a shake of his head and moved into the prison, letting the door shut behind him. The entry room was simple and small, with bare white walls, one-way windows looking outside, and three doors: the one behind Lea, one to his left going to the security room, and one right ahead of him that led to the cells. Lea pushed the door open, revealing a long, thin, well-lit staircase going down and down into the blue rock of the mountainside until it ended at an identical door about a story underground. His footsteps left dull echoes as he made his way down the metal stairs in silence, his heart beating at the thought of seeing those faces again.

Beyond the second door there was a shift in the atmosphere that Lea felt immediately. It was as if all the spells he had learned suddenly vanished, and all his magic power stripped away. Amidst the bright, plain white walls of the prison, Lea heard a dull hum that wasn't coming from the air conditioning. Up above, attached to the ceiling, was a machine hooked up to a purple crystal. Nethicite. The ore absorbed the magic in the area and prevented spells from being cast, preventing any sort of escape by the prisoners whether it be destroying their cells or teleporting out. Not that anyone was sure they _could_ teleport out; Lea hadn't been able to use corridors of darkness since he came back, so it stood to reason the apprentices couldn't either.

Speaking of the apprentices, only Dilan bothered to turn his attention to Lea when the redhead entered the room. Lea wasn't separated from them by barred doors, but rather by some sort of reinforced glass. Their cells were sparsely furnished, but they had the essentials including small beds and desks. It wasn't that different from how their rooms had been in the Castle That Never Was, really, and there were even a few personal touches among them, objects that they had been allowed to request from the guards like books or puzzles.

Dilan, sitting on the edge of his bed with his back hunched over and his arms resting on his legs, glowered at Lea from behind the glass. A finished plate of food sat on the small desk in the corner of his cell, neatly cleaned and ready to be taken the next time the guards stopped by. The ponytail of dreadlocks that Lea remembered the former castle guard sporting was undone, his long black hair framing his face and falling down his back. His jaw was clenched tightly as he continued to hold his steady gaze, but he said nothing. Dilan and Lea continued their staring contest until dry laughter wafted up from the next cell over.

"So the traitor has come to speak with us, has he?" Even asked without looking up from the desk in his cell. The (former?) scientist looked a mess, with his long hair disheveled and seemingly beginning to go gray. From what little Lea could see of his face, as he still had not looked over at him, Even was also beginning to show wrinkles. It was kind of shocking to see, he hadn't looked anything like this just a few months ago. Stress, maybe? Bright green eyes flicked in Lea's direction for only a moment, but quickly returned to the desk as Even wrote down something-or-other in a journal.

"Yeesh, glad to see you too. But I guess I should've expected such a cold reception from you," Lea deadpanned.

"Spare me your puns." Lea could practically _hear_ Even rolling his eyes. "If you have come to hound us as Reeve Tuesti did to Ienzo, I can assure you that only he knows what the process to Materia creation is. As we all already told him. Repeatedly."

"I'm not actually, though I did run into Reeve on the way in." Lea turned to Ienzo, who hadn't even acknowledged his presence yet. "I'm surprised you agreed to help him."

Ienzo sat in a chair against the far wall of his cell, lost in whatever book he was reading. Lea tilted his head, trying to catch a glimpse of the cover. No dice. Ienzo's hair still fell over his eye, but the slight blue tint it had as Zexion was gone, back to the silver-grey he had as when he was a kid, in fact. It seemed he had gone back to being as quiet as back then too, since still hadn't said a word even with Lea looking right him. When at he finally did speak up, he still didn't turn away from the book and just flipped to the next page. "We're not irrational, Lea."

Well at least he wasn't deaf. "So then why not look into the goodness of your new-found heart and help me out as well?"

Ienzo finally looked up from his book and shot Lea a glare, while behind Lea Even barked out a laugh. The redhead turned around to see Even leaning back in his chair, his head tilted back and his hand on his forehead as he continued to cackle. "Help _you?!_ "

Lea frowned while Even's laughter filled the prison. "Yeah, why not? You had no problem helping Reeve."

"'Why not'? Why not, he says!" Even still laughed, and Ienzo was still glaring at him. "Lea, you tell others to get things memorized but do you have _any_ sort of recollection in that tiny little peanut you call a brain? Do you even know _why_ we are in this predicament in the first place?!"

"You were recompleted after dying—"

"After _you_ killed us, you bastard!" Even shouted, leaping from his chair and slamming his fists against the glass. Lea took a step back, shocked by the sudden surge of emotion, though it only served in bringing him closer to Ienzo who had stood up as well.

"The Organization was the string that tied us together." Ienzo spoke calmly but had an edge in his voice as he marked the page he was on and left his book shut on the desk. "Everything was almost in our grasp until you had to go and break that tie."

Lea almost quipped that _technically_ he wasn't the one to actually kill Zexion, but he held his tongue on that. "What the hell, you two? You're mad that I gave you your hearts back? That was the whole reason you went along with Xemnas's plans anyway!" Lea turned from Ienzo's stone-cold glare to Even's barely restrained fury, then spared a glance at Dilan and Aeleus watching in silence. "I didn't even have anything to do with you guys, you got something against me as well?"

"You turned against the Organization," Dilan commented dryly. "You gave into the weakness of the heart and worked against all logic."

"The weakness of the… Don't tell me you guys _liked_ being Nobodies?!" For an answer, Lea looked at each of the former apprentices in turn: Dilan kept his face steady, Ienzo's was cold, Even was grinding his teeth as he seethed with rage, and Aeleus…wasn't even looking at him anymore.

The silent giant of the apprentices sat on his small, hard bed, his bright sky blue eyes eyes focused on what it was kept his hands busy. Aeleus was toying around with some sort of puzzle made of interlocking metal pieces that he had to try and take apart. Aeleus seemed utterly focused as he worked on it, his eyes narrowed and lips pursed, but he apparently wasn't putting everything he had into it because he spoke up—albeit without taking his eyes off the puzzle. "Lea, if you aren't here for the Materia then why are you here?"

"I…" Lea trailed off before finally getting around to hounding them about Isa, because at that moment a thought occurred to him. The conversation with Cissnei and Leon replayed in his head. Slowly he looked over to Even, who had calmed down though still had a flash of anger in his eyes, and thought over his words carefully. "…Even, did you ever make any replicas besides Riku's?"

Even quirked an eyebrow. He lowered his fists from the glass separating him and Lea and unfurled his fingers before cupping his chin in his hands. To top it off, Even gave one of his signature creepy smug smiles. "Of course. What kind of scientist has only _one_ subject in an experiment? But I have no idea why you care about that; none except for Riku's were in any way successful. They barely moved at all and couldn't even copy memories like the Riku Replica." Even's voice took on a wistful tone. "Ah, he was my most incredible work…"

Something bothered Lea about what Even said, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he suppressed it and moved on. That question had simply been asked on a whim, it wasn't what he had come for. "Whatever. That's not why I came here anyway."

"Then get to the point," Ienzo said.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Lea crossed his arms and stared them all down. "Where's Isa?"

There was an uncomfortable, and perhaps confused, silence that washed over the prison at Lea's question. The four men seemed completely befuddled at his question, Ienzo and Dilan exchanging glances with each other through the glass walls of their cells and Even staring at Lea like he had lost his mind. "What in the world are you talking about?" Dilan asked.

"Isa. Saïx!" Lea practically shouted the second name, hoping it would jog their memory. He snapped his fingers and whirled on Ienzo, pointing at him. "What happens to someone who loses both their Heartless and Nobody, like we did?"

Ienzo said his response almost robotically. "When someone who's lost their heart is recompleted, they should return to the place where it happened. And if that world is unavailable for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the Realm Between—a world called 'Traverse Town'. They would be sent there. Or perhaps—"

Lea held a hand up, cutting him off. That was what he wanted to hear; or rather, what he wanted the others to hear. "Look, okay. The fact is—we're here. We've been recompleted, right? So Isa should be here too—plain and simple. So was he blasted off to some other world or what?"

Aeleus once more spoke up without looking up from his puzzle. "Saïx is not here because there is nothing left of him to be here."

"…The hell are you going on about?"

"Are you really so dense as to not notice his golden eyes and pointed ears?" Dilan shook his head in a disappointed manner.

Lea grit his teeth. "Of course I—"

"And here I thought you were _somewhat_ intelligent. What, did you think that was some sort of taint of the darkness? Then why do Riku or Maleficent not have the same physical mutations, Lea? No, what happened to Saïx had nothing to do with powers of darkness. What happened to him was far more…" Dilan grasped for words.

"It was something from the heart," Even offered.

Lea was growing impatient. "Stop beating around the bush before I set this whole place on fire." Not that he could back up that threat with the nethicite still active.

"Saïx—and Braig as well—held a fragment of Xehanort's heart," Ienzo said. "In somewhat the same manner Ansem was able to control Riku, though far more limited in fashion. It allowed Xehanort to coerce Braig from beyond the grave, who in turn coerced Xemnas, the amnesiac that he was, into moving things toward their plan with the χ-blade."

"…You're making that up." No way he'd believe it.

Ienzo shrugged and turned back to his book. "Believe me or don't believe me, I don't care either way."

"But it doesn't make sense!" Lea snapped. "What purpose would Xehanort have for—for possessing people? This isn't like when Ansem didn't have a body. He could move through Xemnas already!"

"Why do you think we were called Organization XIII before there were thirteen members?" Aeleus finished his puzzle, separating the metal pieces, and looked up at Lea as he lowered his hands to his lap. "That was all a part of Xehanort's scheming as well. He planned on separating his heart into thirteen pieces, all on his way to get his hands on the χ-blade. When he learned Roxas held Ventus's heart, however, he used Braig to move things down the Vanitas route instead."

"I…I…" Lea's throat was suddenly incredibly dry, and he felt an overwhelming sense of vertigo. Pieces were all now fitting together. He had never actually questioned the Organization's name before, but now that he knew, coupled with what little he knew about the χ-blade… "You _knew all of this?!_ "

Even shook his head. "Not at first. Aeleus was the only one to learn firsthand; the rest of us learned from him while we were locked up in here."

Lea turned to the broad-shouldered stalwart, who was now gently tossing up and down the two metal pieces of his puzzle in a single hand. "Explain, big guy. Now."

Aeleus, face hard, nodded. "It happened in Castle Oblivion. During my battle with Riku, Ansem—Xehanort's Heartless, need I remind you—took control of him and finished me off. A shameful defeat, but an eye-opening one. In that moment, I… _connected_ with him. If I didn't know any better, I would say it was through my heart. And though Ansem's memories were a jumbled mess, I was able to make out the remnants of Xehanort within him. I saw everything, then and there." He stopped bouncing the puzzle pieces in his palm and stared down at his open hands. "My final words were regret that I had started a fight I should not have. Riku and Ansem both believed it to mean our battle, but that wasn't the case. The fight I should not have started was long before that, when I argued with Master Ansem to move forward with Xehanort's vile experiments!"

Lea stared at him with a newfound sense of…pity, maybe? Or pride? He wasn't sure, but it was clear that Aeleus was, unlike the other three, filled with immense regret over what it was he had done during his apprenticeship and further time as Lexaeus.

"Anyway…" Aeleus looked up at Lea. "The reason that Isa is not here among us now is because of Xehanort's taint. He wasn't Isa anymore, Lea. He was Xehanort. And so he became a part of the completed Xehanort the day Xehanort reappeared in the castle. There is nothing left of Isa to be recompleted."

"So there you have it," Even said coldly. "Now leave us alone."

Lea's head was spinning. A chill was running down his spine, and his shaking legs had rooted him in place. This was…a lot to take in. Isa was just… _gone?_ That couldn't… How could somebody just be erased like that? Without anything but memories of them left behind? "Y-Yeah…" he managed to wheeze out, and turned around on his stiff legs. "I just might."

"Hold on." Dilan's order stopped Lea just before he began the long, slow climb up the stairs to the surface. "Why ask now? Why do you care about what happened now, but not when we first appeared months ago?"

"I…" Lea took a moment, taking in a deep breath. "I thought I remembered something. You were there, Dilan—the day the Organization attacked Radiant Garden. Was Saïx on my side?"

He didn't look back, staring at his hand on the doorknob, but he could feel Dilan's gaze boring into him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I remember…speaking to Squall, and counting Sora and someone else among my friends. But it's like—like someone took some white-out and erased whoever it was

"And why the hell would you count Saïx among that number? Think, you idiot. He killed you that day. Whatever 'friends' you were listing off, it was definitely _not_ Saïx."

Of course. That made sense, and it's not like he had forgotten Saïx's attack. But, if there was no one else there…and Lea was certain he remembered saying more than just Sora's name… Lea's grip tightened on the door knob.

Then who was it?

Who had he forgotten?

 **x-x-x**

Aqua moved down the streets of Radiant Garden at a leisurely base, but nonetheless with purpose. Just about everyone had spotted the Gummi ship flying over the city, and she had passed a handful of groups of people talking about it amongst themselves. The _Highwind_ coming to Radiant Garden wasn't that uncommon of a sight, but it became less frequent as rebuilding started to slow down, and it'd been a few months since the last time. But all the more reason to stop by Merlin's house, where she knew its passengers were sure to head first thing.

Aqua knocked on the door, though didn't wait for an answer before creaking it open and popping her head in. A small crowd was gathered at the coffee table, including Ven—as Aqua had expected. But a smile came to the Keyblade Master's face as her eyes were drawn to the two newcomers seated and chatting happily with everyone. Sora and Kairi were the Restoration Committee's visitors this day.

Sora seemed slightly taller than the last time Aqua had seen him, and his hair contrasted that by being slightly shorter and somewhat less wild—still wild, just less. But the more things change, the more they stay the same; he still had on that same outfit of his, the one he had gotten from some friend before the final siege of Hollow Bastion last year, with dark blues and reds. He and Ven were laughing at something Yuffie said. Those two continued to be spitting images of each other, in spirit if nothing else.

As for Kairi, she had foregone the pink dress that Aqua had grown used to seeing her wear. It had been swapped out for a sleeveless, white hooded jacket partly zipped up over a black tank top and lilac shorts with a familiar crown-shaped emblem sewn onto her left back pocket. Her red hair was still the same length as before and, of course, she still wore that necklace that Aqua had enchanted so many years ago.

"Oh! Aqua!" Kairi stood up and waved over to her friend, and Aqua greeted her in kind. She moved over to the gang and ruffled Ven's hair before sitting down between him and Kairi.

"Hey there, how are you two doing? And Riku's not here with you?"

Kairi shook her head. "Riku has some school stuff to deal with. The year's almost over, but not quite yet."

Yuffie groaned loudly. "Ugh, don't remind me! Me and Ven just got back from school a little while ago."

"That's 'Ven and I', Yuffie," Merlin said with a chuckle. Yuffie stuck her tongue at him in reply.

Kairi let out a small giggle before continuing. "Since Riku and Sora missed so much, things were a little bumpy with classes when they got back. They've mostly leveled out, but Riku still has some things he needs to take care of."

"And Sora doesn't?"

With perhaps the smuggest grin Aqua had ever seen, Sora crossed his arms and raised his nose into the air. "For once _I_ actually beat Riku in school! All my credits and classes for the year I was asleep are taken care of."

Kairi smirked. "Sure, after you spent five straight weekends up in classes."

"T-The point is I'm free!"

Light laughter lit up Merlin's house, and Merlin himself waved his wand over in the direction of the kitchen to get everyone some drinks. A fresh cup of tea gently floated into Aqua's hands like a feather on the wind, and after taking a sip of it she looked to Sora and Kairi again. "So, what brings you two out here? Just dropping by?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. We wanted to see everyone, and to help out if you guys need it."

"Reconstruction is going along fine," said Aerith, who wasn't seated but instead arranging a floral arrangement across the room. "Cid and his new assistants, Biggs and Wedge, are working on the town's defenses and Leon is caught up in some debate with Reeve over what our priorities should be, but right now everything has kind of settled down. Everyone has a place to live, even if the town's a bit cramped."

Aqua set her cup down. "I've been helping around town with odd jobs, whoever needs me. I was at Scrooge's shop just earlier. Oh! That reminds me. Sora, next time you see Donald, can you tell him that Scrooge says—"

 _Slam!_

Aqua was interrupted by the front door to Merlin's house shutting loudly. Heads turned to see a redhead, eyes low and shoulders slumped, looking back at the door. "Sorry about that," he muttered to the assembled group.

"Hey, Lea!" Sora waved him over, but Lea gave him only the barest of bare acknowledgments. He nodded at Sora without saying a word, then made his way toward the staircase leading upstairs.

"I won't be long. I just gotta get something I left here."

"Um… Of course…" Merlin said with a raised eyebrow. He frowned after the redhead, brushing his hand through his beard with concern. "Oh my, it appears our friend appears rather out of sorts."

"What's wrong with him?" Kairi asked.

Ven shrugged. "I have no clue. He was kind of out of it when Yuffie and I ran into him earlier, but not that bad. He said he was having a pretty bad dream last night, too. Something about that one world you guys have talked about, Twilight Town?"

Something about what Ven said seemed to trigger something inside Sora. At first, at the mention of a bad dream, he looked suddenly alert. When Ven mentioned Twilight Town, he stiffened up. Aqua didn't miss the way that Kairi gazed at him worriedly, either. Something wasn't quite right with him, and Kairi seemed to know what it was.

Then, suddenly, whatever it was had passed. Sora turned to Merlin. "Hey, Merlin. Where do you keep your books now?"

Merlin adjusted his glasses. "My books? Well now let's see… It's not in the basement, no, no, not since Cid converted it into his confounded laboratory… Is it—no, I wouldn't keep books in the kitchen. Of course not. Books, books…" Merlin had gotten up out of his seat and wandered back and forth along the length of the room, tapping his head with his wand. "Aha! Oh, Sora, you clever lad! I know what book you're looking for, and I do know where that one is at the least!"

Sora smiled and stood up as well. "You know me too well, Merlin."

"You're going to introduce them to Lea, are you? Hoping to cheer him up? A capital idea, if you ask me!"

"What's he talking about? What book is this?" Kairi asked.

Still smiling, Sora held his finger up in front of his lips. "It's a surprise!"

"A pleasant surprise at that! Sora, you should take Kairi along as well." Merlin opened a drawer in a nearby desk and pulled out a book with a brown cover, held tight by a gold-locked strap. Aqua's eyes fell on the cover, featuring colorful characters beside a boy with brown hair.

"Wait, that title…"

"Hey, I recognize that book!" Ven exclaimed beside her. "Or uh, do I? The cover's different."

Kairi had joined Sora as Merlin handed the book over to him. "Sora, is that _you_ on the cover?"

Sora flashed a toothy grin. "It's a long story. To put it shortly, this is exactly what we need to put a smile back on Lea's face!"

Lea came back down the stairs with a sea-salt ice cream bar in his hands. "I don't need help anyway. I'm fine guys, just got something on my mind. Don't worry about it."

"No way, Lea!" Sora sprinted over to him with the book clutched tightly in his grasp, almost reverently. The way he held onto it, it was clearly important to him. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, we're going to cheer you up!"

Lea sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then rolled his eyes. But he didn't move away. "Well how's a book gonna do that?"

"That's kind of what I'd like to know," Kairi said.

Sora looked to both of them, then turned around and held the book out so all three were facing its cover. Lea's brow furrowed as he registered the younger Sora on the cover, holding the hand of what appeared to be a little yellow bear in a red shirt.

"Just watch!" Sora unlatched the golden lock and opened the book before the three of them. From her position Aqua couldn't see what was happening, but Kairi and Lea both gasped in surprise. A moment later, a brilliant glow illuminated the room…and then the book snapped shut on the ground, with all three of them gone.


	5. The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

**Chapter 5: Winnie the Pooh and Lea Too**

A recently renovated house in the middle of a rebuilding city, with three stories—the third underground. Just through the front door, visitors come across a large common room with an open kitchen on the right and coffee tables on the left, right up against knick-knacks and trinkets ranging in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Shelves of ceramic creations lined the walls, and books took up so much space that there wasn't enough bookcase for them, resulting in them being stacked haphazardly on the floor in the corners. An old-time clock hung over the front door, with a hand-carved owl popping out to hoot along with every hour.

Now, this might be the home of any wise sage, but it happens to belong to a wizard named Merlin. And, like most wizards, Merlin had plenty of books, both magical and otherwise. And one special book in particular led to remarkable adventures in an enchanted place called the Hundred Acre Wood. But of all the adventures there, the ones that held a special place in the heart of Merlin's visitors were with a bear called Winnie the Pooh.

"Winnie the Pooh?!"

An orange blur came bounding forward with the _sproing_ of a spring accompanying his every leap. The stuffed tiger never quite came to a stop, bouncing up and down and side to side on a spring-like tale while his thick black eyebrows directed his glare forward. "Wait half a darn minute! It seems to me that most o' these stories are about that silly ol' bear."

Well then, Tigger. Who should this story be about?

Tigger grinned slyly and bounced up high, then landed on his feet and placed a hand on his chest. "Well, I happen to know someone who's extremely fascinatin'! Not to mention handsome an' debonairy." He wiggled his eyebrows while cupping his chin in his hands, but it's a bit too late for that. The title already says 'Winnie the Pooh'.

"Aw, that's easy to fix!"

 **Chapter 5: The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers**

"There! Now that's a wonderful title! And speakin' of wonderful things…" Without wasting any more time, Tigger let out hooting laughter and leapt into the autumn forest, bouncing among the vibrantly colored leaves with a boastful, excited tune on his lips.

" _The wonderful thing about Tiggers  
_ " _Is Tiggers are wonderful things  
_ " _Their tops are made out of rubber  
_ " _Their bottoms are made out of springs"_

" _They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy  
_ " _Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!  
_ " _But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers  
_ " _Is I'm the only one"_

 **x-x-x**

Red and orange leaves flew through the air and between the trees, riding on chilly autumn winds. The breeze rustled Lea's spiky hair and he reached up to pluck a leaf from his locks. It wavered back and forth between his thumb and pointer finger until he let it go and turned to watch the leaf catch up to its fellows. The wind did bring a bit of a chill with it, though, and Lea moved to zip up his light jacket—only to find it already was. In fact, his entire outfit had changed ever so slightly to accommodate the autumn weather. Not only was his jacket zipped tight, but it was slightly thicker and had sleeves now. An orange scarf wrapped around his neck, thicker than the one he had worn as a kid.

In momentary surprise, and a bit of a dizzy spell in his head, the ice cream that Lea had nabbed from Merlin's house slipped from his grasp and fell onto the forested floor. "Aw, damn it…" he muttered, turning away from the lost treat and toward the others he had arrived here with.

Not just Lea's clothes had changed, either. For Sora it was rather simple, his sleeves extending down to his gloves and his pants covering his ankles. For Kairi, who wore lighter clothing more suited to Destiny Islands to begin with, the changes to her outfit was more noticeable. The light jacket she had worn at Merlin's house was now a coat more along the lines of Sora's and zipped up all the way, and while her shorts remained unchanged she now wore leggings beneath them. Wrapped around her neck was a light blue scarf, the ends changing to white.

Lea looked around the area again, taking in his surroundings this time. They weren't in Radiant Garden anymore. That much was clear just from the weather, but he didn't recognize his surroundings either. The yellowing grass beneath his feet was covered in twigs and dried leaves, crunching every time he shifted his weight. The forest around them wasn't particularly dense, and the leaves that still hung from the trees were vibrant shades of red and orange. Occasionally he spotted a tree that had a tiny bit of snow held in its highest branches. "What happened?" Lea turned to Sora, who had a grin plastered on his face and his arms crossed behind his head. "What was that book?"

Kairi, however, didn't know where they were either. "Did it take us somewhere?"

Sora was still smiling while the two of them questioned him. "Yeah, but it's not like a portal exactly. We're inside the book."

Lea raised an eyebrow. A world inside a book? Sounded like something right out of a fairy tale to him. "Pull the other one."

"No, really! I've even had to find the pages to put it all back together. This is a world I've come to alone a few times before, and it's just the place to be when you need a pick-me-up. Just think of it as somewhere only we know."

Kairi frowned for a moment, but after a shrug it turned into a smile. "Well if nothing else it's really pretty here. I don't think I've ever seen a real autumn like this." She held her arms out to her sides and spun around on one foot as she took in the sights.

"It's new to me, too. Last time I was here it was…" Sora trailed off and lowered his hands, then after a moment crossed them over his chest. A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Snowing, I guess? I think I stopped by after Xehanort was revived. Oh, that's right!" He snapped his fingers and nodded to himself. "Yeah, Donald and Goofy pushed me into it—almost literally. I gave the woods a visit right as they were celebrating Christmas."

Kairi had been more interested in the forest than what Sora had to say, but she paused at that and turned back to Sora. "Who's 'they'?"

Lea looked left and right. "Yeah, I don't see any towns or anything. It's all forest around us for like fifty acres."

"A hundred acres, actually," Sora said. "And there isn't really a town here, no. My friends' homes are all pretty spread out, though I think from here the closest would be P—"

"Wait." Lea put his hand on Sora's shoulder and pulled him back, putting the kid behind him. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

 _Mrroowwrg…_

"Growling." Lea narrowed his eyes and looked for the source of the sound. In the bushes? In the leaves? Everything was blowing in the soft breeze, so he couldn't tell if any of them were rustling. They could be being watched from anywhere. "Probably an animal."

"I don't think heffalumps growl…"

Lea stared back at Sora. What the heck was a heffa…whatever? He shook his head and turned back to the foliage. "I don't know what you just said, but I am definitely hearing the growl of some wild animal."

"Could it be a bear?" Kairi asked. "Maybe we got too close to its den?"

"Well we are by a bear actually—"

 _Mrroowwrg…_

"Say that a little sooner, why don't you?!" Lea snapped. He took a step forward and held his hands out to his sides, fingers tensed. Heat gathered from the pit of his belly, up through his chest and his arms. It concentrated in his palms and then billowed outward, igniting. Flames burst to life and swirled around his arms, billowing outward and then circling back inward. The fires died down and Lea felt hot metal meet his fingers, but it didn't burn him. He grasped his chakrams tightly.

A familiar flash of light beside Lea told him that a Keyblade had just been summoned. Kairi's. He'd only seen it one or two times before, just enough to know that she called it Destiny's Embrace and had been training under Sora and Riku. An orange blade, a paopu keychain, and one part of the handguard resembling an ocean wave. To top it all off, the 'teeth' of the weapon were composed of flowers. It screamed Destiny Islands like nothing else.

But as Lea and Kairi stood ready to face the bear, or heffalump, or whatever it was that was growling at them, Lea couldn't help but notice there wasn't a second Keyblade flash. He spared a moment to stop searching for their hidden foe to glance at Sora, who looked completely nonchalant about the whole thing. "You just gonna leave us in the dust?"

Sora shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. "Relax." The growl sounded again, and Sora nodded. "I recognize that growl. It _is_ a bear, but don't worry. He's a bear of very little brain."

Just then, among the growling and from the bushes to Lea's left, a voice called out. "Sora! Is that you? Why I thought I heard a familiar somebody while I was out gathering my hunny this evening." A yellow head popped its way out of the bush, followed by a rotund body wearing a too-small red shirt. A brown ceramic pot was held in the little bear's hands, but as he emerged from the bush his foot caught on a root and he fell forward, causing the pot to go tumbling from his grasp and roll across the grass until it stopped at Lea's feet.

What the heck?

"Oh bother," muttered the bear as he pushed himself up and then sat down on the forest floor. There was another growling coming from him, but he just stared up at the three of them with a bewildered expression. Only after the growling had died down did Lea realize where it was coming from, and a moment later Kairi held a hand up to her mouth to hold back a giggling fit.

Sora smiled and shook his head, then knelt down and picked up the honey pot. "Hey there, Pooh! You're tummy's rumbling again, isn't it? Here, let's get you some honey." He examined the pot, and his brow furrowed. "Hey, this one's empty."

"Yes, that's right." The bear climbed up to his feet and walked over to Sora unevenly, as if he could topple over at any moment. He reached up and Sora graciously handed him the pot. "I thought I would congratulate myself for gathering hunny today with a small smackerel."

"You're gathering honey?" Sora crouched down to eye level as they spoke, his hands resting on his knees.

"That's right. I have to stock up for winter." He thrust his whole arm up to the elbow into the pot and then dug around for a few moments before pulling it out. "Though it would seem I have more stocking up to do than I thought."

Sora sighed and stood up, then rubbed his hand on the bear's head affectionately. "We'll help. First let's go see how much you have back at home." He turned to Lea and Kairi. "Guys, meet Winnie the Pooh. He's a really good friend of mine here in the Hundred Acre Wood. We've had lots of fun together!"

Lea raised an eyebrow at the silly looking bear, then narrowed his eyes and leaned in to get a better look. Was that _stitching_ keeping his body together? Like a stuffed toy? But Kairi was far less inquisitive, and quickly dismissed her Keyblade before running up beside Sora and crouching down as he had done before.

"Hey there, Pooh! My name's Kairi, and the hothead behind us is Lea. We're friends of Sora's!"

Pooh smiled widely and then waved at Kairi with his stubby arms. "It's nice to meet you, Kairi. Would you like to help me get some hunny to last the winter?"

"Sure! How hard could it be?"

Sora smirked. "You are really underestimating just how much honey Pooh eats."

Pooh's tummy rumbled once more.

 **x-x-x**

Kairi grunted as she let go of a heavy padlocked chest filled with full honey pots. She nursed her sore arms; Sora was right, she really _hadn't_ expected just how much honey they'd have to gather. She almost found it hard to believe that such a little bear could eat so much. Then again, she had a first-hand encounter with that. Stopping Pooh from eating all their hard-earned honey had been quite the lesson in patience. Still, she noticed that in such a short time she had already grown fond of him. No wonder Sora said this was a place to cheer up, Pooh had such a kind heart and knew just how to lighten the mood no matter what he did.

Kairi looked behind her, where Sora and Pooh were stacking more honey pots in Pooh's closet. Pooh reached for one of the pots and Sora tried to stop him, but too late. The silly old bear grabbed a pot from the bottom of the stack and pulled it free with a lick of his lips, unaware of the damage he had just caused. The pots shuddered for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Sora's eyes to go wide as saucers, before the entire thing crashed down on top of him. Kairi jumped to her feet to give him a hand, but already Sora popped his head and one hand out of the pile to see Pooh face-first in the honey pot he had grabbed, blissfully unaware. Sora let out a breath and smiled with a shake of his head.

"You never change, do you, Pooh?"

"I hope not, Sora. Otherwise I wouldn't be Pooh anymore." His voice was muffed behind the honey pot. He tugged on it, and with a _pop!_ it came right off, letting Pooh lick up the last bit of the sticky treat left on his face. "That small smackerel was quite scrumptious."

Sora pulled himself out of the pile of pots and started to pick them up. "Well let's keep it small, alright? You said you need this for winter."

"Right. I can keep my smackerels small, Sora." He reached for another pot and licked his lips, but Sora pulled it out of the way just before Pooh got his hands on it, then handed it to Kairi who set it against the wall to start a new pile.

"Pooh, you know what I meant."

"Bother."

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at their interactions, but she also noticed their third part not joining in. Lea was off at the other end of the room, helping Pooh out with the honey organizing but not getting involved in the fun and the banter. Kairi found herself frowning at the sight, not at him but _for_ him. Lea was the reason Sora had brought them here, wasn't he?

"Hey, Lea! Come on over here!"

Lea perked up at her call, looking over his shoulder at her and then at Pooh and Sora playing tug-o-war with a honey pot. He let out a sigh, stood up straight, then rolled his shoulders. "I'm coming, I'm…" Lea trailed off. "Do you hear that?"

"… _are made out of rubber  
_ " _Their bottoms are made out of springs"_

" _They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy  
_ " _Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!  
_ " _But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is  
_ " _I'm the only one"_

" _IIIII'm...the only—_ OOF!"

From out of nowhere, a blur of orange and black slammed hard into Lea and sent him tumbling across the floor of Pooh's house. Lea and the blur crashed into the wall and then were flung into the air, spinning around wildly before landing on Pooh's bed. Lea, sprawled on his back, looked bewildered up at the giant stuffed tiger who was staring right into his eyes, nose to nose, springy tail wagging.

"Hello! I'm Tigger! T-I-double-guh-RR! That spells Tigger!" Lea could only spit out a jumbled, shocked, mess of words before the newcomer lost interest and let out a loud gasp as he turned to Sora and Kairi. "Sora! Why hey there ya ol' so-an'-so! What are you doin' all the way outta here?! Ooh, and who's your lady friend?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow and sent Sora a silent question with a single look: He knew this guy? But Sora greeted him with vigor almost matching the jittery tiger's own. "Hi, Tigger! I'm just here with some friends today. This is Kairi, and the guy you just bounced is Lea."

"H-Hey," Lea groaned as he climbed off Pooh's bed. "Ow, my back…"

"Lea, ya say?" Tigger moved back over to him in a single leap, landing once more on Lea's chest and pushing him onto his back. "Lea ol' buddy ol' pal! Somethin' tells me you can bounce with the best of 'em! Whaddaya say?!"

"Bounce?" Lea asked through a pained wince.

"And watch out, Sora here might just be my number two bouncin' lieutenant with all the times we've bounced together!"

Sora shrugged and looked over to Kairi. "Tigger is always jumping and bouncing all over the forest. Sometimes I've joined him on that." A blush creeped onto his face and he scratched at his cheek while avoiding Kairi's eyes. "You know, uh, once or twice."

From his prone position, Lea let out a laugh. "Now _that_ I have to see!"

"Sure ya o! Bouncin' is what Tiggers do best, after all!" Tigger jumped off Lea one last time and bounded around the room on all fours. "Why, we'll bounce up and down all hundred acres! It'll be the time of our lives! Woohoohoohoo!"

Not watching where he was going, Tigger soon collided right into Pooh and sent the honey pots the little bear had gathered up flying once again. Dazed, Tigger shook his head and held it in his hands while his eyes spun. After a moment, he turned to Pooh and held out a hand. "Hey there, Pooh boy! Didja hear? We're gonna go bouncin'! You wanna come?! You know how much fun it is!"

"I know. You've bounced me lots and lots of times…" Pooh drawled out with a tired expression. He climbed up to his feet and picked up two of the scattered pots, but on attempting to get a third he dropped the first. "Oh, bother. I'm sorry, Tigger, but," and he dropped another one, "I am too busy to go, um, bouncing today. I need to gather hunny for the winter."

"…Oh." Tigger was visibly deflated by the news, his entire body drooping. "Well, uh, if you say so, Pooh. Well, come on, Sora and pals! We can at least go bouncin' together!"

Lea climbed up off of Pooh's bed. "Fun as that sounds, we're gonna have to get a raincheck on that, um, Tigger."

Sora smiled sadly and moved to go help Pooh, taking some of the pots off his hands. "Sorry, but we promised to help Pooh get ready. Another time, okay?"

If it was possible for Tigger to slouch any further, he did it. "Oh, yeah… Okay. See ya some other time, then."

Rubbing his arm and looking down, Tigger slowly backed up and made his way toward the door—or that's where he thought he was headed. One step a bit too far back landed Tigger's left foot firmly in the open top of a full pot of honey. He gasped and groaned as he kicked his foot, trying desperately to get the pot off of him and muttering about how gross it was all the while. As he grew more frantic, his tail whipped back and forth, knocking into things hanging from Pooh's wall like photos and his cuckoo clock. Eventually Tigger did manage to get it off, but not before one last kick sent the honey flying right at Sora—and dumping it all over him.

"Yech!" Tigger winced at Sora's sticky appearance and took another step back, this time making sure he was actually headed for Pooh's front door. "Well, uh… TTFN. Ta-ta for now…"

Lea put his hands on his hips and watched as Tigger bolted off. "What's with that guy?"

Kairi didn't take time to consider the question herself, as she immediately ran over to Pooh's kitchen cabinet and fished for a washcloth to help clean Sora up. "You okay?"

Sora took the cloth with a thank you to Kairi and began to clean off his hair. For curiosity's sake, Kairi turned to Pooh to make sure he wasn't about to suck it all off Sora. Pooh didn't seem to go _that_ far for honey, though. As she watched, he finished gathering the pots and putting them into his closet, then turned back to the others and waddled over to them on his stubby legs. "Are you alright, Sora?" he asked.

"Thanks guys, I'm fine." Sora's hair wasn't, though. It looked even wilder than ever. He looked to Kairi and smiled. "Don't mind Tigger. He's sweet, really. He's just…eccentric. And excitable. Very excitable."

Kairi turned back to the door, which was still open and letting the chilly breeze in. "I'm worried we hurt his feelings."

"We probably did." Sora's reply was surprisingly nonchalant. "But don't worry. Tigger's attention span is almost even shorter than Pooh's. He won't be down for too long, and later we can go bounce with him."

Lea shivered in the cold and moved over the door. Once he had shut it, he leaned his back against it and crossed his arms. "What does that mean though, exactly?"

Sora let out some awkward laughter. "Well, the first time I met Tigger, he was on a bouncing spree at Rabbit's house. I had to stop him from bouncing all over Rabbit's vegetable garden."

"There's someone here named just 'Rabbit'?"

Sora either ignored or didn't notice Lea's under-his-breath interjection, as he kept talking. "The next time, I found Tigger as his 'bouncing spot' and he had me follow him around on some tree stumps. The last time I was here Pooh and I bounced together to reach the top of Rabbit's house before Tigger and win some honey."

Pooh rubbed his belly. "That was a very scrumptious Christmas."

Kairi couldn't help but smile at the picture, and it grew wider with each thing Sora listed off. She sat down in a chair and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in her hands. "Sounds like you've had a ton of fun here. I'd love to hear more!"

"What, seriously?" Lea asked with a groan.

"Come on, Lea. We came here to cheer you up! What could be more cheerful than getting to laugh at Sora's embarrassing stories?"

A spark shined in Lea's eye. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"Aheh…" Sora laughed awkwardly, then sat down on Pooh's bed and helped Pooh up beside him. "Well, alright then. The first time I met Pooh he was sitting on a log thinking to himself…"

Time seemed to just slip away from them, minutes turning into hours as Sora spoke about helping Pooh get honey from the hollow of a tree, getting his head unstuck from a honey pot, and more. And long after Kairi had stopped keeping track of time, someone pounded on Pooh's door and caught all of them by surprise. "Is that Tigger again?" Kairi asked.

Sora shook his head. "Tigger doesn't knock."

Seemingly oblivious of the frantic rhythm of the knocking, Pooh happily got up off his bed and walked over to the front door with a smile on his face. The visitor didn't even stop knocking once the door was open, so caught up in it that he pounded his fist into Pooh's belly a few times before catching notice.

"Oh, d-d-d-dear! Pooh! It's terrible!"

"Oh! Why hello, Piglet. Look: we have visitors."

A small pink figure, standing barely taller than Pooh's legs, poked his head out from in front of the bear and gazed into his house at Sora, Kairi, and Lea. True to the name he was a little piglet. _Very_ little. He examined the three of them with wide, fearful eyes, eyes that fell on Kairi, then Sora, then Lea. And at that last one, he let out a startled gasp and ran right past Pooh, the force of his speed spinning Pooh around in place. With a yelp, Piglet dove under Pooh's bed, shaking.

"That giant is so t-t-tall!"

"Is he okay?" Kairi asked, jumping to her feet. She was ready to rush over to the bed, but Sora held a hand out.

Sora stood up slowly from the bed, careful not to scare Piglet beneath him. "Easy, Kairi. No sudden movements. Piglet's a nervous, little guy, so you gotta be gentle with him." Sora got down on his hands and knees, then turned to look under the bed. "Piglet?"

Kairi couldn't see what Sora saw, but after a moment things seemed to calm down and Piglet let out a small "…Sora?"

"Hey, Piglet." Now she knew he was smiling, just from his tone. "It's okay. The giant is my friend Lea, don't worry about him. And the girl with us is my other friend Kairi."

"O-Oh, w-well if they're your friends, Sora…"

Sora stood up and dusted his pants off, and a moment later the little pig came crawling out from under Pooh's bed. He still shook slightly at the sight of Lea, but nowhere near as much as Lea's appearance had frightened him before. He did have to crane his neck very far back to get a look at Lea's hair, though, to the point he almost fell over.

Kairi put on the most disarming smile she could. "It's nice to meet you, Piglet. Sora is showing us around the Hundred Acre Wood today."

"N-Nice to meet you. You're Kairi, right? And that's Lea."

Lea nodded. "Yup, that's Lea. Got it memorized?"

Pooh walked over to the four of them and looked down at his newest visitor. "Would you like a snack, Piglet?"

"Oh, that sounds very nice Pooh, but no." Piglet shook his head. "It's Eeyore! Eeyore needs help, right now! Something terrible has happened to his house!"

Sora slapped his hand over his face. "Again?"

 **x-x-x**

Lea scratched his head. "What exactly am I looking at here?"

"Why, genius, of course!" Rabbit laughed. Lea still couldn't quite comprehend that the rabbit was literally named Rabbit.

That wasn't even the half of it. Turns out the owl was named Owl, and the gopher Gopher. The mother and son kangaroo were Kanga and Roo, which Lea had to admit he found kind of clever. At least Eeyore had turned out to be a donkey and not some animal he hadn't heard of before _called_ an eeyore. Lea liked Eeyore already, to be honest. He was mopey and dull, but in a charming way. Like Roxas had been early on.

As for the 'genius' in front of them, well, Lea wasn't sure he'd call it that. It was certainly _something_. Turns out Eeyore's house had been crushed by a massive boulder. Or so that's what they said, anyway. All Lea could see under the giant rock was a couple of sticks, but Sora assured him he could see the remains of the poor donkey's humble abode. He must be as crazy as the people living here. When he, Sora, and Kairi had arrived with Pooh and Piglet, they found the boulder done up with some crazy mess of pulleys, levers, and rope. Rabbit stood atop the boulder with a set of blueprints in his hands and a smug smile on his face.

"Rabbit's Rock Remover!" he exclaimed proudly, emphasizing the R with each word. "I have officially completed…the plans!"

From down on the ground, everyone stared up at Rabbit in silence until Pooh questioned: "What plans?"

Rabbit choked for a moment before slapping his foot on the rock beneath him. " _The_ plans! For removing this boulder and restoring to Eeyore his happy home."

"No need to bother on my account," Eeyore muttered. Pooh patted him on the head, causing Eeyore to give Lea an irritated aside glance. Oh yeah, he was Lea's kind of people.

Rabbit examined the blueprints in his hands and nodded. "Alright, err… Sora's new friend. The tall one!" Lea looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "If you would, place Eeyore in the weight there." He pointed at the far end of the messy contraption, where a tarp had been tied to a bent branch and hung lifelessly.

"You good with that?"

"Don't suppose I've got much choice." Eeyore slowly walked over to Lea and slumped down, letting his legs go limp and his belly drop to the ground. "Whenever you're ready. Don't rush yourself on my account."

Lea bent down and scooped Eeyore up with both hands. He was surprisingly light, and his skin soft. Soft like fabric. Wait a second, were all of them stuffed animals? He entertained the thought as he moved Eeyore over to the tarp and struggled to fit in him it, more due to his size than his weight. Once Eeyore was secured, Lea leaned against a nearby stick. "You good?"

"Hanging in there."

Lea turned to Rabbit as he ordered the others around, directing them to different locations across the field. "Now then… Pooh Bear! Release the counterweight!"

Pooh stared at Rabbit dimly before Sora gave him a gentle nudge, which turned Pooh's attention to the wooden lever attached to a stone wheel. Leaping up and grabbing it with both hands, Pooh's weight did the rest of the work and brought the lever down. Ropes tightened and loosened along the contraption, lowering Eeyore closer to the ground.

Rabbit wasn't done giving orders. "Kanga and Roo! Start depressurizing the granite extractor!" Extractor? Lea wasn't entirely sure Rabbit knew what that word meant, but regardless Kanga and Roo started moving the stone wheel near them. Rabbit, still atop the boulder, looked down to a lone rope where Piglet and Kairi stood. "Piglet! …Piglet, start pulling your own weight!"

Piglet struggled to pull on the rope, but of course with such his small size couldn't keep up with the forces of Kanga and Roo rotating their wheel and Eeyore's weight. He slipped and was dragged along as the rope moved into the contraption instead of being tugged away from it. That was when Kairi stepped in, grabbing Piglet and pulling him back as Piglet pulled the rope. Even she couldn't quite deal with it, though, and she had to dig her heels in to keep from getting pulled herself.

Rabbit rubbed his forehead and began to give more commands as it became apparent that Piglet and Kairi weren't the only ones having trouble. Roo was too small to pull his own weight, and Pooh's arms were about to give out and release his lever even with Sora helping. Beside Lea, Eeyore let out a grunt of pain as the tarp suddenly tightened before loosening again. Then Lea heard the snap of a thread, followed by an "Oh, bother," and everything went wrong.

Suddenly the rope Piglet and Kairi were holding on to got tugged back with such force that Piglet was pulled right out of Kairi's hands and Kairi herself fell onto her back. Piglet got caught up in the rapidly spinning stone wheel by Pooh, Kanga lost grip on her lever, and Roo began to spin around in time with Piglet. The rope holding Eeyore bounced up and down and up and down, banging his head against the wood.

Sora looked up. "Uh oh."

The wood creaked and groaned and collapsed under the strain of it all, sending Rabbit's Rock Remover crashing to the ground.

Lea groaned and rubbed his face as Rabbit went over his blueprints, trying to figure out why it didn't work. Kairi sighed and moved to tie up the loose strings on Pooh's back exposing stuff and fluff inside. Oh, so they _were_ stuffed animals!

"Maybe we need another helping hand," Kairi said.

Rabbit looked up from his papers and smiled. "Oh, yes! All we really need is—AAAGH!"

A familiar orange and black blur slammed into Rabbit, sending him toppling from the top of the boulder. Tigger wagged his tail as he shoved his face into Rabbit's, and beside Kanga Roo let out an excited. "Tigger!"

"Hello, you blokes! Anyone up for a little bouncin'?!"

"No!" Rabbit coughed as he climbed up and brushed the dirt off his body. "No, Tigger! We all told you when you came buy our houses earlier, no bouncing! Look!" He shook Tigger by the shoulders and then gestured to the boulder right beside them. "Just look at all this work we have to do!"

Tigger shook his head. "What? Movin' that old thing? Not a problem, all you need is a little bouncin'!"

"How will bouncing move it?" Sora asked.

Tigger shushed Piglet and moved over to the rock with his chin cupped in his hands, examining it from various angles, knocking on it, and checking the direction of the wind. Rabbit, having gathered his scattered blueprints and climbed back onto the rock, rolled his eyes. "'Bouncing will move this boulder.' That's almost amusing."

"Right there!" Tigger shouted, pressing his finger against a seemingly random spot on the boulder. Before their eyes his body contorted, his torso twisting as his springy tail spun like a screw and he stood on one foot. Lea couldn't help but notice the way Roo smiled in awe at the sight, but didn't have time to really understand what that would mean before Tigger suddenly release the pressure he was building up. His entire body spun like a top and he shot high into the sky, kicking up a wind that blew the papers out of Rabbit's hands again. He bounded off a tree, shot past Eeyore still hanging there, and leaped off the nearby cliff face. Bouncing again and again off the wreckage of Rabbit's contraption, hos hooting laughter seemed to come from every direction at once. At the last, loudest "Hoo!" Tigger landed feet-first on the exact spot he had pointed out on the boulder and then jumped off of it, landing on the grass where he had started.

The boulder reacted immediately, the force of Tigger's super bounce getting it rolling away from Eeyore's house—with Rabbit atop it! The ropes attached to the boulder pulled Rabbit's Rock Remover along with it, which in turn caught up the whole group in its debris. Lea's world went green and brown as he crashed into the dirt and grass, and he heard nothing but the panicked cries of everyone around him. There was a free-falling sensation for a moment, and suddenly he found himself soaked to the bone.

Lea pushed himself up to a sitting position to see that he and everyone else had landed in a small pond that was more mud than water. Sora and Kairi acted quickly after they recovered, conjuring up a combination of Aero and Water that cleaned and then dried everyone, but the damage had been done. When Tigger came bounding down after them, Rabbit met him with a furious glare.

"Now that that's outta the way, who's up for a little bouncin'?!" Tigger slapped Rabbit on the back, sending him toppling right back into the mud.

"What is it with you and _bouncing?!_ " Rabbit demanded as he clawed his way back out, once more drenched. "Just look at my rock remover! Everything's ruined, and all you can think about is bouncing!"

Tigger seemed genuinely hurt by Rabbit's shouting. He took a step back and looked down, a hand over his mouth. "But that's what Tiggers do best…"

"Exactly," Eeyore said as he climbed his way out of a thorny bush. "Unlike us."

Piglet wrung his hands. "What, uh, we're trying to say is, uh…we really can't bounce like Tiggers."

Sora rubbed his head, visibly dazed from the crash. "Tigger, sorry. But the thing is…"

"…we're not Tiggers," Pooh finished.

Seeing Tigger's heartbroken expression shook Lea, but he had to admit this guy was way too peppy and over the top, even for someone like him. There was a time and place for everything, but he took it way too far. They were lucky no one was seriously hurt in that crash, or things would have been even worse. Everyone else looked just as sorry as he did, though not as much as Tigger. Except Rabbit, who let out a "Hmph!" and turned away with his arms crossed.

Tigger practically looked like he was going to break down crying. With his lip quivering and his eyes watering, he turned away and slowly walked off into the woods, his tail dragging behind him along the ground.

Kairi rubbed her arm as she watched him go, then turned to Sora beside her and spoke softly. "Is… Is he really all alone? The only Tigger, I mean?"

Sora shook his head. "I'm not sure. I know he says he is…"

Roo's voice came sadly from a branch up above. "I've got a mama. Doesn't he have a family somewhere too?"

Lea stared down at his reflection in the muddy water. The only Tigger out there, huh? Maybe his apparent pride in being 'the only one' wasn't actually pride at all. He suddenly found a pang of sympathy for Tigger in his heart; Lea also knew the pain of not knowing where someone was out there.

Kairi spoke up again. "Sora, does anyone around here have a pen and paper?"

"Owl probably does. Why?"

"I have an idea."


	6. The Only One

**Chapter 6: The Only One**

 _"Dear Tigger,  
_ " _Just a note to say: Dress warmly, eat well, stay safe and sound, and keep smiling._

" _We're always there for you._

" _Thinking of you wherever you are.  
_ " _Signed, your family."_

That evening found Tigger and Roo deep in the Hundred Acre Wood. Roo had tracked Tigger down after the incident with Eeyore's house to find Tigger in a rut, moping about the family he never knew he had. They had spent the better part of the evening searching the forest for any sign of them, had turned Tigger's house upside-down and inside-out as they bounced and dug their way through his belongings to find some sort of heirloom or memento from them. And then, just as Tigger had given up hope, a letter came in on the autumn winds.

Roo wrung his hands nervously as Tigger read the letter quietly to himself. He didn't need Tigger to read it out loud, he knew what it said. That had been Kairi's idea, the one she had needed a pen and paper for. Everyone but Rabbit had gathered at Owl's house to write a letter to Tigger from 'his family' to cheer up his spirits, penned by Kairi so he wouldn't recognize the handwriting. They had sent it away on the wind, and it found Tigger several hours later, gently floating down onto his head like a message from above.

A speck of white fell on Roo's head, and he looked up to see that the first snow of the season had begun. At that moment, Tigger let out a loud gasp and rolled up the letter. Then, without warning, Tigger let out a round of hooting laughter and took off bouncing into the woods, his tail leaving circular tracks in the forming snow.

Roo stared after him with a bewildered expression, as he continued to bounce off into the distance without a single glance over his shoulder. With a shake of his head, Roo quickly bounded after him. "Tigger! Wait for me!"

Under the blanket of freshly fallen snow the Hundred Acre Wood transformed into another world entirely, especially for someone as small as Roo. The increasing depth of the stuff made it tougher for Roo to move forward, but he bounced his hardest and pressed on, even with more falling atop his head. Up above, forming icicles hanging from bare tree branches began to sparkle in the fading sunlight, and all around the winds had calmed down so the snow fell vertically.

Roo caught up to Tigger as Tigger stopped at every single house he could, calling on the folks inside. He came bounding up to Roo's own home first, shouting excitedly to Kanga who was sweeping the front porch. "Kanga! Kanga, Kanga, Kanga!"

Kanga greeted him with a gentle smile and a quick look over at Roo. "What is it, Tigger dear?"

"She called me dear," Tigger said with a bashful giggle as he wrung his tail.

"Mama, Tigger got a letter!" Roo said happily, waving his hands in the air.

Kanga hid a smile behind her gasp. "A letter! Well who is it from?"

Tigger stood straight and titled his chin up. "Why, only the most Tiggerific of Tigger families, of course. _My_ family, that is! They wrote to me all the way from our family tree!"

"My, my! Well, what does the letter say?"

With a smug grin, Tigger held the paper up in front of him…and then rolled it up. "Tut-tut-tut! Sorry, but I gotta tell it to everyone all at once-like. Let's all meet up! TTFN!"

Roo spun around to watch Tigger as he bounded off again, then quickly waved goodbye to his mother and hurried up after him. The two of them took off down the bleached white path, the dirt road invisible now under inches of fluffy snow. But to those who had spent their whole lives in these woods, they didn't need it. With Tigger in the lead, he and Roo wove their way through the trees until they arrived at another large tree home with a very small door. Tigger landed in a crouch in front of the door, opened it in one swift motion, and shoved his head inside.

"Yoohoo, Piiiiigleeeet!"

Several long moments passed without a reaction, with Tigger sitting there on all fours, head inside Piglet's house and tail wagging back and forth. Roo moved out from behind Tigger and walked up to the door, gazing inside through the small gap between Tigger's head and the top of the doorway. He peered into the dim house, seeing no sign of life or light. Where was Piglet?

"T-Tigger? What are you doing at my house?"

The voice came from behind—and above! Roo turned around just as Tigger jumped up and out, slamming his head on the frame of Piglet's front door before whirling around on one foot to see Piglet standing behind the two of them, waist-deep in snow and with a green scarf around his neck. He wasn't alone either, with Owl standing behind him and looking rather confused.

"Why hello there, Piglet! Glad to see ya!" Tigger bounded over and shook Piglet's little hand with his own, flinging the poor dear up and down. "And you too, Owl! Though what're you doin' here?"

Owl puffed out his chest proudly. "Piglet asked me to write a letter. I say Tigger, if anything that question is better directed toward yourself."

Tigger took Owl by the shoulders and shook him. "Never mind that, bird boy! I got somethin' way more important that that! Meet up at Eeyore's place while I go get Pooh!"

"I beg your pardon?"

Owl didn't get an answer. Tigger was already out of there, bounding through the snow on all fours in the direction of Pooh's house. Roo glanced at Owl and Piglet apologetically, then simply shrugged and said, "He got the letter," before chasing off after Tigger and leaving Piglet and Owl behind, glancing at each other worriedly.

Not far at all from Piglet's house was the tree where a little bear lived under the name of Sanders. Pooh wasn't actually inside though, even with the weather. He sat on the log just outside his front door, a twig in his hand poking the small fire that had melted some of the snow around it. Pooh set the twig down with a smile and adjusted his scarf before holding his hands out toward the fire…and then turning to his side and digging into a bag of marshmallows that sat on the log beside him.

Pooh's guests, Sora and his new friends, were still visiting. They had marshmallows too, though weren't eating them right out of the bag like Pooh was. Sora and Kairi, sitting next to each other on the log, held their skewered marshmallows over the fire with sticks like the one Pooh had held moments ago. The tall one—Lea?—leaned against Pooh's house as there was no room on the log for a fourth person. He held his marshmallow and stick above his open palm, within which a small flame burned. Roo came to a stop at the sight, his eyes bugging out and his jaw dropping open. "Wow…"

As Tigger and Roo approached the four of them, Roo caught wind of the last bits of conversation between Sora, Kairi, and Lea.

"…been nice, but we should really be heading back," Lea said with his eyes on the cooking marshmallow.

"Aww, really?" Kairi brought her own treat up close to examined, then put it back against the fire. "But it's been so much fun! You've definitely cheered up too, Lea."

"I think Lea kind of has a point, actually." Sora bit down on his own marshmallow, strings of melting fluff stretching from his mouth as he pulled the treat away. "It'll be dark soon, and as fun as it's been we probably shouldn't stay the night."

Kairi pouted, but she said nothing more at that. Pooh ate another handful of marshmallows and spoke up with his mouth full. "Are you quite sure of that, Sora?"

Sora smiled and rubbed Pooh's head while the little bear swallowed. "I am, Pooh. Just remember what I said last time, alright? I'm never far."

Pooh halted eating for a second to look down at his chest and place a sticky paw over it. "I remember, Sora."

"Great." Lea popped the marshmallow into his mouth. "So how do we do this anyway, Sora? Do you need to use your Keyblade or something?"

Sora shook his head. "Northeast of Pooh's house is a portal back outside. The map when you're reading the book shows it as a compass."

"That's neat," Kairi chimed in.

Lea nodded. "Sure. So we'll head outt hat way before it gets too dark and—"

 _Bounce!_

Lea had no warning and no time to finish before an orange and black streak slammed right into him, sending him tumbling onto the ground. Tigger growled playfully and stared right into his eyes while wagging his tail. "Hey there, bucko! Glad to see ya again! You ain't headin' out without hearin' my news, are ya?"

"Hello to you Tigger," Lea said with a pained grunt while pushing himself up on his arms.

"What news is that, Tigger?" Pooh asked.

"Ah-ah-ah." Tigger wagged his finger at Pooh and then made a zipping motion across his lips. "My lips are sealeded! If you wanna know what the letter from my Tigger family says, you gotta come meet up with everyone at Eeyore's place!"

Kairi clapped her hands together once, a bright smile on her face. "A letter from your family? Tigger, that's great!"

Tigger laughed it off. "Aw, shucks… Well, come on! No time for dawdlin', everyone is headin' up to Eeyore's place!" He let out a round of laughter and then took off without a glance back over his shoulder.

Pooh smiled warmly. "Oh, I'm so happy for Tigger. He found his family after all!"

Sora gently nudged Pooh with his elbow. "Pooh, that's the letter _we_ wrote. Remember? It was Kairi's idea."

"Oh, yes. Of course."

Kairi nodded, more to herself than anything. "I really am happy for him, after how sad he was earlier."

Roo bounced up and down happily. "It was a great idea, Kairi! Tigger's so excited now!"

"I'm not sure it was." Lea climbed up to his feet and brushed the snow off of his back, his eyes focused on the path Tigger took off into the woods. "That letter was pretty basic, and as nice as it is he seems _too_ excited for just getting something that amounts to 'Thinking of you wherever you are'." Kairi stuck her tongue out at Lea, but he didn't turn back to look at her. His brow furrowed in concern, and then he moved to follow Trigger's tracks in the snow. "Come on. Let's go see what he has to say."

With a shared glance between Roo, Sora, and Kairi, they moved after him…and then Sora ran back and grabbed Pooh, who had gone back to eating marshmallows.

Eeyore has returned to the hilltop at the base of the cliff where everything had gone wrong earlier that day, gathering sticks in the last few hours to build up a new house. It was…quaint. It was small and didn't cover a whole lot when the weather got bad, but Eeyore like it that way. He shuffled into the small pyramid of twigs and let out a rare, content sigh. And then Tigger came storming through, knocking it all to the ground and picking up Eeyore into a big bear hug. He spun the stupefied donkey around in a circle while Owl fluttered down behind him, followed soon after by everyone else catching up on foot.

"Tigger! I say, just what is this commotion about?"

Tigger set Eeyore down and thrust his fist triumphantly into the sky, the letter clutched tightly. "Why _this_ of course! A letter! A letter for me, that's who!" Eeyore groaned as Tigger continued to spin around, now holding the letter out in front of him with both hands. "T-I-double-guh-RR spells Tigger!"

As Tigger continued to celebrate, Piglet chuckled. "I, uh, wonder who it might be from."

"From my very own family! I knew I had one! A _great big_ family, fulla uncles and aunties! And grandtiggers! And second cousin Tiggers! And they're all _just like me_ , all bouncin' around up there in our huge, gigantical family tree!" Tigger was bouncing in place on his tail now, his laughter and grin infectious—though Lea winced at the 'all just like me' comment. As everyone smiled happily at Tigger, Kairi and Roo most of all, Tigger suddenly stopped bounding. "AND—I'm especially excited about this part—they miss me somethin' awful, and they're comin' to see me tonight!"

Roo's face fell, and he felt his stomach go with it. "T-Tonight…?" Around him everyone gasped, or at least had expressions matching his own, but Tigger was too caught up in his excitement to notice. And Pooh, who smiled happily and clapped his hands.

"That's right, Roo-boy! Oh, we'll all go to our family tree, and we'll take a great bit picture to put in that locket you an' me found!"

Sora stepped forward with an awkward smile on his face. "Uh, Tigger, where did it say that, exactly?"

"Exacticaly nowhere, _per se_ ," Tigger replied after jumping up into Sora's face. "'Cause with us Tiggers, you gotta read betwixt the lines. I'm gonna see my whole family, 'cause my whole family is all comin' to see you-know-who-hoohoohoo!" And then he bounded away into the snow, the letter hugged tightly to his chest, leaving a very nervous and dumbfounded group behind.

"Oh boy," Eeyore groaned out after several silent moments.

Kairi bit her lip and rubbed her arm. "Sorry, everyone. This wasn't what I expected to happen."

Kanga shook her head. "It's okay, dear. None of us thought things would turn out this way, either. Even if Tigger is rather…eccentric at times."

"That's one way to put it," Lea said with another rub of his sore back.

Owl ruffled his feathers, puffing them out in an agitated gesture. "Well, clearly, someone has to tell him!"

"Are you nuts?" Sora asked. "You guys saw how excited he was. Telling him we wrote that letter would break Tigger's heart." Kairi and Kanga were nodding beside him, which caused Lea to grimace.

"And what happens tonight when they never show up? Tigger is going to find out sooner or later that it isn't a real letter. It's better to fess up now than string him along on false promises about finding someone who doesn't exist!"

Roo gazed up at Lea in confusion, as he had practically shouted the last few words. While the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood's inhabitants watched on, Sora and Kairi directed their somber expressions toward him instead of Tigger. "Lea…"

"This stuff is hitting just a little too close to home, Sora. I don't want a repeat of the lies I told Roxas when he was searching for you. No one here should want that."

Sora let out a long sigh and rubbed his face. Roo could see a lot of conflict on his face, which made the little kangaroo nervously wring his shirt. Something was going on with Sora and his taller friend, though just what that something was Roo had no idea. Finally, the stress in the air building between the two of them was broken by a silly old bear's light voice.

"Perhaps his family will come, and everything will be fine."

Lea let out a low groan and buried his face in his palm, while Piglet stepped over to Pooh. "Um, Pooh…"

"No, wait." Kairi cupped her chin in her hand and nodded. "What if they do?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "How would they?"

Something inside Roo clicked, and he realized now where Kairi was going with this. Roo took a deep breath and tightened his fists, then looked up at everyone with determination. "I have an idea."

 **x-x-x**

"Sorry, but this is an awful idea."

Lea leaned against a wall in Tigger's home, currently occupied by everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood except for Rabbit and Tigger himself. Roo had convinced Tigger to head off into the forest to find more decorations for the party…not that he really needed more, in Lea's opinion. Banners and streamers hung from every possible corner, covering the ceiling in a blanket of colored cloth. What little space wasn't taken up by them was instead filled by Tigger-print balloons that would occasionally float on down to floor level, where Pooh would proceed to get distracted by them. The walls were decorated with hand-drawn pictures by Tigger of his relatives, as well as a large poster exclaiming 'Welcome Tigger family!' And in the center of all the chaos a giant multi-layered cake was practically collapsing under its own weight while simultaneously melting from the heat all of its candles gave off.

As for the bad idea, that would have to be Roo's plan. Lea watched as Kairi cut out pieces of orange fabric and Kanga hurriedly sewed them together into costumes, where Sora and Owl would use Eeyore's tail to paint stripes onto them. If Tigger's family wasn't going to show up, Roo insisted that they play the part instead, which Lea just couldn't approve of. Sora and Kairi, wearing cardboard masks made by Pooh, walked up to Lea with one for him. His expression said it all, clearly.

"Do it for Tigger," Kairi said as she pulled up her own mask and rested it on top of her head.

"I like the guy well enough not to lie to him, Kairi."

"Lea…" Sora began.

Kanga spoke up before he could continue. "It's alright, Sora. Lea doesn't have to dress up if he doesn't want to. Besides, he may be a bit too tall to pass for a Tigger." She finished Roo's costumes by putting a hood-like mask over his face, and Roo bounced around happily. Then Kanga turned to the three humans. "All of you might be, in fact."

Kairi looked over at the pile of fabrics being made into costumes and laughed softly. "Kanga has a point."

Sora grinned and shrugged. "We'll just say we're here to see Tigger's family! Right, Lea?"

Lea groaned once again. "I won't tell Tigger the truth, I don't want to be the one to break his heart. But I still don't approve of this." He paused, and then added, "…And I kind of want a piece of that cake."

And then, from across the room, Piglet hollered. "Tigger's coming!"

All chaos exploded around Lea, Sora, and Kairi as the others struggled to get their costumes on, with more than one putting theirs on upside-down or inside-out. But after much grunting and banging around, not to mention a few smacks to the head, they had all gathered in their homemade Tigger costumes in front of the door as Tigger returned home.

"Surprise!"

Tigger dropped everything he held, letting the massive pile of decorations to fall to the ground far below his treehouse. "Is it… Is it…really you? My very own one and only family?!" Lea watched with a mixture of amusement and concern as Tigger reached around to pull all of them into a warm embrace. He only set them down after walking into his house while carrying the group in his hug, at which point he turned to his other three visitors. "Sora! Kairi! Lea, ol' buddy ol' pal! Glad you could make it. Let me introduce you to…" Tigger paused and smiled what was quite possibly the brightest, happiest smile Lea had ever seen. "My family!"

Sora chuckled. "We're glad to meet them, Tigger."

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other in… We haven't seen each other!" Tigger's smile had given way to a bewildered, perhaps even overwhelmed, expression. He looked around at the party decorations as if feeling that perhaps it wasn't enough.

At that point, Roo cleared his throat and looked around while lowering his voice as much as a kid as young as him could. "It's nice to have all us Tiggers getting together like this!" The others nodded beside him, but perhaps they didn't trust their voices not to give them away as much as Roo did as they didn't really speak up.

Kairi clapped her hands together once. "So! How about we get this party started then, huh?" She moved over to the table where Tigger had left a pitcher of lemonade.

Tigger gasped at her words and slapped himself on the head. "Where the heck are my mannerisms?! I'll get right on that, Kairi, don't worry!" He rushed past her and grabbed the pitcher in one swift motion, while also grabbing a nearby pot of flowers in his flustered rush. "Refreshaments for all, comin' right up!" Pouring lemonade into half the Tigger-print glasses and water into the other, he picked up the tray and hurriedly brought it over to the group. Lea coughed awkwardly and picked up one of the lemonade cups. Beside him, Pooh happily began to drink his cup of water…before remembering that his mask couldn't open up and getting his costume all wet.

"What a nice home you have," Piglet said as strongly as he could manage while drying off some of the spilled water on his own costume.

Kanga subtly picked out the flower petals from her drink and slipped them back into the pot. "Yes, and what lovely decorations."

Sora looked down at Eeyore. "Nice weather, huh?"

"Could be better," he responded without bothering to hide his voice. The snow had picked up almost as soon as night fell, it really couldn't be called autumn in the Hundred Acre Wood anymore.

A loud noise suddenly rang throughout the house, causing everyone to jump and Lea to drop his drink. Tigger blew into a horn excitedly and bounced around to slap a party hat on the heads of Eeyore, Kanga, and Owl. "Now this party's really startin' to pick up!" He grinned down at Piglet beside him. "So, whatcha been up to, cousin?"

A little frightened by Tigger looming over him, Piglet backed up. "I-I've been, uh—" He slipped over Lea's spilled lemonade, causing his costume to fall right off of him. With a hurried gasp, Sora quickly stepped between Piglet and Tigger.

"Tigger! Why do you have to ask what you're family's been up to, huh? You of all people know what Tiggers do best." He quickly spared a glance behind him, where Piglet slipped back into his costume.

"Bouncin'!" Roo cried happily from behind Tigger. "Bouncin' mornin' and noon and night!"

Tigger turned around with stars in his eyes. "Why, that's what _I_ been doin' too!" He gasped and began gently bouncing up and down on his tail in the middle of the room. "Then there's only one thing we can do here to get this party goin'. Who's up for some family type bouncin'?"

Nervous sounds of agreement rang up among the guests, save for Roo's entirely genuine excitement. Lea groaned loudly and backed up against a wall. He couldn't be bounced if he couldn't be knocked over. Tigger dug through a chest in the corner of the room and pulled out a vinyl record, then tossed it onto a nearby player and laughed as the music began to play. He once more started to bounce around on his tail, while the others started awkwardly jumping up and down; except for Eeyore, who simply raised his legs while repeating "Bounce, bounce," over and over. Sora, Kairi, and Lea watched it all from the far wall, nervousness and excitement mixing in all of them.

"It seems to be going really well," Kairi whispered among the three of them.

Lea nodded. "I have to admit, this may go off without any problems."

Sora jabbed him with his elbow. "See? You worried over nothing. Roo's idea was great."

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet."

Tigger bounced up and down on the table with Roo, knocking the cake over without a care. He jumped off the walls and onto the floor, where he grabbed Pooh by the hands and spun him around while continuing to go up and down. Pooh laughed. "You certainly have a wonderful family, Tigger!"

Roo bounded up onto the top of Tigger's recliner chair. "Wait a sec! We gotta bounce the whoopdie-dooper, uh, super…"

Tigger gasped and let go of Pooh mid-spin, sending him flying into Owl. "Whoop-de-Dooper Loop-de-Looper Alley-Ooper Bounce?!"

Lea shuddered and looked over to Sora. "The what?" He got only a shrug in return.

Tigger laughed and clapped his hands before joining Roo up in front of everyone. "Remember everyone, half this bounce is ninety percent mental!" He bowed before Roo and gestured to the middle of the room. "Guests first."

Roo marched forward proudly to the middle of the room as everyone else formed a circle around him. He took on a familiar stance, standing on one leg and twisting his tail like a corkscrew. Lea recognized it now, if not by name. This was what Tigger had done to remove that boulder. "Ya gotta swing your legs up high, and ya twist your tail in tight! Wind up all your springs, and with your eyes fixated straight ahead..." He inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Ya let it all loose."

As Tigger had then, Roo turned into a living whirlwind and shot through the air, bouncing this way and that against the ceiling, walls, and floor. Kanga let out a worried cry, but it was too late now to stop him if she tried. Roo spun around Tigger's hammock hanging from the ceiling and bounced against the balloons on the walls, flying fast until he crashed head-first into Tigger's open closet, his fall cushioned by all the junk heaped up inside. It still sounded rather painful, however.

As Roo tumbled out of the mess, he shook his head and grimaced. Lea frowned. Something about this was…off. A light gasp beside him, and Lea looked to see Kairi with her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. Only now did it click what the problem was: Lea had been able to see Roo's grimace. His mask had fallen off! Sora moved to intervene, but Lea held him back. It was too late, Tigger had seen it. He crept forward with a confused look on his face and leaned down to see the dizzy little boy up close.

"Roo…?" A brief look of hurt passed over his face before his face grew hard and he put his hands on his hips. "What are you doin' impersonatin' a Tigger?" Then his face softened once more and he looked back over his shoulder, knowing evident in his eyes. The jig was up. He slowly walked over to the rest of the 'Tiggers' and removed their masks one by one. "Piglet? Kanga? Owl, Eeyore…"

Pooh removed his own mask before Tigger got to him. "We only wanted to help, Tigger."

"Oh." That single word crushed Lea's heart, even if he hadn't known Tigger long at all. The worst case scenario had come true, and they had been found out. The look on Tigger's face, the expression of not only hurt but betrayal, was enough to almost make Lea wish he didn't have a heart again so he could ignore the guilt it left him with. He should have intervened before things got this far.

"Now I understand," Tigger continued. "It was all a big joke." He reached for a locket sitting on a nearby dresser and looped it around his neck, then picked up the letter that they had written earlier that day. "Well, that's alright." He swung the door open and glared at everyone as the cold wind blew into his home.

Roo crept forward. "Tigger?"

"Don't follow me!" Tigger snapped without looking back. He slammed the door behind him and marched off, but Roo wasn't having any of that and took off after him. Lea wasn't about to leave things this way, either. He chased after Roo and followed the little kid out into the snow.

"How did I let it get this far?" he hissed to himself as he fought against the roaring winds and falling snow.

"T-This isn't your fault, Lea."

"It absolutely is, kid. I could have stopped this at any point and I never did." Lea heated up his hands, not quite conjuring a flame but making them glow red. The snow immediately around them melted, and Lea sighed. "The truth is, I know what Tigger is going through."

"You do?"

"There's someone I miss, but the worst of it is that unlike him I don't even know who that person is."

Roo twisted his shirt nervously. "Well, Tigger doesn't know his family either…"

"That's a load of bull, kid." Lea looked down at Roo and shook his head. "Tigger absolutely has a family who cares for him, and they're all right up there in that house and out here looking for him. They may not be Tiggers, but that doesn't make things any different. Family's not about how you look."

Roo stared down at his feet, then looked off into the blizzard with determination. "We gotta find him!"

Lea grinned. "Right. He can't have gotten far. Come on!" He knelt down and scooped up Roo in his hands, then marched through the snow with renewed vigor. Soon enough they found a lone figure standing in the middle of the woods, his fur whipping back and forth in the wind as he held tightly onto a letter that threatened to be torn from his grasp at any moment.

"Tigger!" Roo cried.

"I said not to follow me!"

"Tigger, you're acting crazy!" Lea snapped right back at him. "I know you're hurt, but it's the middle of a snowstorm! You can't do this now, you'll get hurt!"

"I can't be hurt more than _I already am!_ " Tigger shouted, his voice echoing around them. Lea snapped his mouth shut, and Roo sniffled. Tigger glared at the two of them with tears streaming down his face.

"Somewhere out there, there's a Tigger family tree full o' my _real_ Tigger family! And I got a letter to prove it!" He held the locket in his hands and glanced down at it, opening it up to stare at the empty contents. Then, clutching his hand into a fist, he held it to his chest. "And I'm gonna find 'em."

"Tigger!"

"TTFE!" Tigger shouted as he stomped away through the snow, hugging himself tightly. "Ta-ta forever!"


	7. Your Heart Will Lead You Home

**Chapter 7: Your Heart Will Lead You Home**

"…And then he went off into the woods on his own, leaving us behind."

Lea's words brought down the already somber mood even further. The weather outside had been bad enough, with the snow blowing around; not quite a blizzard, but Lea would have called it one anyway. The blurs of white contrasted heavily against the darkness of the Hundred Acre Wood as it approached midnight, at least according to Pooh's clock. Lea turned away from the window to look at the others. Sora was staring into an untouched and lukewarm mug of hot chocolate. Kairi gnawed on her lower lip, with Pooh sitting on her lap and her arms hugging him tightly more for her sake than his. Pooh himself had abandoned his blissfully unaware norm, and was now tapping his head and muttering to himself as if to motivate thoughts to come.

"Poor Tigger," Sora said sadly as he set the mug down on Pooh's table. "I can't believe it came to this."

"All alone in the cold," Pooh said from his spot on Kairi's lap. "He must be very sad…and perhaps lost. And maybe even a bit hungry." If Lea didn't know any better, he could swear the bear was guilt tripping him.

"You didn't even try to go after him?" Kairi asked.

Lea flinched, even if her tone wasn't a hurtful one. Of course he was going to, but the fact of the matter was he wouldn't have gotten far if he had. Still, it hurt to have his inaction put into words like that. "In this weather? Not to mention I don't know these woods. I wasn't about to chase after him practically alone." He sighed and rested his hands on Pooh's counter. "No offense to the little guy, but Roo isn't exactly helpful in this situation. There's not a lot he could have done."

"I guess so…"

"So what now?" Sora asked. "I'm not going to just leave while he's out there in the cold."

"No one is saying that," Lea replied quickly, almost snapped. He really wasn't. He could have done something to stop all of this, but didn't despite his worries. Now he had to make it right, even if it wasn't really his fault. Having a heart again meant Lea had to deal with the weight it brought just as much as the good times. "Really. No one is saying we just up and leave. But I don't know those woods, Kairi doesn't either, and something tells me you haven't exactly gone far past the area everyone lives."

"…Not especially," Sora admitted with a sigh.

Lea crossed his arms. "We need a guide. Someone who knows this forest inside and out…"

Kairi leaned forward, resting her chin on Pooh's head.

"…And who is competent enough to lead us as a group," Lea finished.

Kairi frowned, but Pooh simply smiled. Keeping her chin on Pooh's head, Kairi asked, "Who are you thinking?"

"Sora knows these guys better than me, but Owl maybe? Not to mention he could keep an eye on things from above. That'd give us a much better vantage point, especially in this weather."

Sora shrugged. "Owl likes to talk big, but he's not really leadership material. He can be kind of absentminded."

"Look who's talking." Lea smiled; he couldn't resist. "Well like I said, you know everyone here more than I do. Does anyone come to mind? Kanga, maybe? She seems pretty reliable."

"Kanga might work…"

 _Knock knock knocknocknocknock!_

Frantic but light pounding at Pooh's door overtook the sound of the wind howling outside, turning the attention of all four of them toward the front of the house. Pooh slipped off of Kairi's lap and plopped down onto the ground with an inquisitive look. "Now I wonder who that could be?"

Kairi stood up. "Tigger, you think?" But Lea doubted it, and even she didn't sound convinced.

Pooh made his way over to the door, moving aside empty honey pots along the way. He lifted the heavy latch to unlock the door, but only got that far before the door swung open of its own accord and the cold wind flowed into the house, bringing snow with it. Kairi visibly shivered, while Lea reacted to the drop in temperature by heating up the air around him without outright conjuring flames. The resulting melted snow got Pooh's carpet wet, but at least they weren't buried alive.

"Pooh! Sora!" Roo held onto the frame of the door, eyes wide, ears and purple scarf flapping in the wind. Tears were streaming down his face and freezing before they even hit the ground. "You gotta help me find Tigger! It's all my fault!"

As Roo came inside, Pooh struggled to close the door back up. Lea moved to give the bear a hand while Sora and Kairi tended to Roo, taking his scarf and brushing the snow off his back and shoulders. When the door shut tightly and the latch was back in place, Pooh hurried over to Roo as fast as his stubby legs allowed him. Roo hugged Pooh tightly around the belly, his cheek pressed against him and his tears wetting Pooh's fur.

"He never would've left if it wasn't 'cause of me!" Roo sobbed. "I didn't mean to make him feel bad, I just wanted him to be my big brother!"

"Oh, Roo…" Kairi crouched down and patted him on the head, while Pooh seemed on the verge of tears himself but—and this both surprised Lea and warmed his heart—was also clearly staying strong and keeping that from happening for Roo's sake.

Lea rubbed the back of his neck. "Roo, this isn't your fault. You can't be so hard on yourself for this. We all share the blame, we all could have stopped this at any moment; if anything, it's on me for telling everyone it was a bad idea but not stopping it."

"We'll find him, Roo," Sora said as he moved beside Kairi. "Don't worry. We were just talking about going out to search before you got here."

Roo sniffed and rubbed his nose with his arm. "R-Really?"

Pooh began to tap his head again. "What we need is an expotition to the place where Tigger is. Or…will be?" Pooh grabbed his own scarf and wrapped it around his neck. And I know just the person to lead us!"

"You do?" Lea and Sora asked at the same time.

Pooh chuckled. "Why, it should be Rabbit, of course! He's the only one who ever says he knows what he's doing."

Lea let out a breath. He had completely forgotten about Rabbit, and that wasn't half bad of an idea. If Rabbit was able to put together that huge contraption to move the rock over Eeyore's house and get everyone to work together on it, then he was the perfect person to wrangle this group of well-meaning weirdos and lead them all on the hunt for Tigger. Not to mention, as a native of this world he'd have to know the forest like the back of his hand…or at least more than Sora, Kairi, and Lea.

Lea lifted the heavy latch, allowing the wind to swing Pooh's door wide open once more. But he was prepared for it this time, holding both hands out and sending out a wave of heat that both kept the snow from entering and melted the snow in Pooh's front yard. He turned around with a smile and held his hand out to Roo. "Lead the way, kiddo."

 **x-x-x**

The walk to Rabbit's house was more of a trek due to the weather, even with Lea keeping the worst of it at bay. Part of the way there they found Eeyore half buried in the snow, and after digging him out he came along with the dull statement that he had nothing better to do. As for Rabbit's house, Lea couldn't tell it apart from a particularly large tree and didn't even realize they had reached it until the group rounded the corner and found gardens covered by tarps which were in turn weighed down by snow. Rabbit had spared no expense in defending his home from the winter; there were even tarps hanging in the branches up above! Not that it did much help, though. When Pooh made his way to a hole in the dirt wall of Rabbit's house, Sora took him by the shoulders and directed him to the front door.

As for the inside, it was significantly less…'planned' was probably a good word. Rabbit was frantically running back and forth with countless knickknacks and trinkets in his hands, and didn't even notice as everyone slipped inside. It was poorly lit, with only a single oil lantern on the counter keeping things brightly. Under less frantic circumstances, Lea'd consider the way the flame cast shadows on the walls cozy.

Rabbit continued to work unaware of his visitors, moving this way and that, until he tripped over Eeyore and nearly dropped a potted plant before Kairi caught it just in time. As Kairi set the pot down on the floor, Rabbit whirled on his guests. "What are you all doing at my house?! Winter is here! You should all be at your own homes getting ready!"

"That's why we're here," Roo explained as he hopped up onto a nearby stool to get up closer to Rabbit's eye level. "Tigger ran out into the winter, and it's cold and dark! Rabbit, you need to help us find him, you just gotta!"

"Tigger…ran away?" Rabbit looked out the nearest window, his eyelids lowering in concern. "Why, what on earth did you do to…?" He shook his head, clapped his hands against his cheeks, and then picked up a notepad from a nearby table. "Absolutely not!"

Sora crossed his arms. "Rabbit, come on."

Rabbit's gaze shifted from him, to Pooh, Kairi, and Eeyore, then to Roo. "Well I mean, after all, it was—I mean, he—I wasn't…" He stumbled over his words, then clenched the pencil in his hand tight. "He _wanted_ to leave, didn't he?"

Pooh deflated. "Only because we hurt him. And besides, Rabbit—" Howling wind drowned out Pooh's words and the window flew open, sending a flurry of snow into Rabbit's home and putting out the light. Lea reacted immediately, conjuring a flame in his upturned palm that lit up the room just as much as the lantern had. Still, he hadn't moved fast enough to stop a bit of chaos. Rabbit had darted for the window as soon as it had opened up, and in the darkness knocked over both Pooh and Sora, which in turn toppled the stool Roo had been standing on. The four of them now lay in a crumpled heap with Eeyore, Kairi, and Lea looking on.

Kairi moved to the window and shut it while they all climbed up. "I didn't know him for long, but he sure seemed to warm up the room when he was around."

"And he always gave you a little helping hand when you needed it," Sora added as he pulled Rabbit up to his feet.

Rabbit sighed and stared down at the notepad he now held in two quivering hands. Lea watched him out of the corner of his eye as he moved over to the lantern and slid his conjured flame inside of it, while down in the corner of the room by Eeyore Roo looked positively heartbroken.

Rabbit seemed to feel Roo's gaze on him, as he looked up from his notepad and then glanced over his shoulder at the poor boy. "Well, uh…" He cleared his throat and then swallowed as he again began to trip over his own words. "What do you need _me_ for? Why don't you go find him yourselves? Or Owl would be happy to—"

"But we're just not clever enough, Rabbit," Pooh said simply. Lea stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. Was Pooh intentionally buttering him up, or just stating facts? He could not get a read on whether this bear was actually as slow as he let on. Still, the buttering up part seemed to be working.

Lea put his hands on his hips. "Surely you know these woods better than anyone? Sora, Kairi, and I sure don't know where to find him out in the wilderness."

"Rabbit…" Roo's tiny voice came up from their feet, and he stared at Rabbit with tearful eyes. "I miss him."

"Well, I…" Rabbit looked around, as if desperately searching for something that could prove as a distraction to get him out of this, but eventually his shoulders droops and he sighed. "Oh, very well." Roo sniffled and rubbed his eyes, then allowed a grateful smile to show on his face. Rabbit returned a weary one of his own. "I'll lead us through the deeper parts of the Hundred Acre Wood, but there's only so much I can do against the weather." Rabbit opened his closet and grabbed a heavy coat. As he put it on, he turned to the tallest of his guests. "Sora, Kairi, Lea—you three have to keep us safe. There's no telling how this storm might put us in danger."

"We're on it, Rabbit." Sora held his hand out and called on the Kingdom Key in a flash of light, while Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace beside him. Sora grinned and held the Keyblade over his shoulder. "There's no need to worry about that with us around."

"Alright then, I want all of you to be absolutely prepared. It's windy out there, and the snow won't let us see far. Be sure we stay together."

Sora looked over at Pooh. "You got that, Pooh? Stick together."

As soon as Rabbit opened the door, the wind met them as if it had been waiting. Most held their ground, but the wind sent Pooh tumbling back and into Sora, knocking him to his feet. Sora laughed softly and patted Pooh on the head. "Not that together."

Lea reached down to help Sora up, and without another word the group let as soon as he was back on his feet, Rabbit blowing out the light and locking the door behind them.

"Tigger! Tiiiggerrrr!"

And so they marched off into the snow, the blizzard chilling their bones and freezing their veins, but their own action—or _in_ action, as the case may be—wrapping ice around their hearts.

 **x-x-x**

"Tiggers!"

Far away from the more well-traveled reaches of the Hundred Acre Wood, a lone spot of orange and black was visible against the endless white. Tigger trudged through the snow with his arms wrapped tightly around his body and his voice hoarse from calling out to his family. His right hand clutched tightly on the rolled-up letter as the wind threatened to blow it away, while his left held onto the empty locket around his neck as if it was his lifeline.

"Where are ya, Tiggers?!"

Tigger squeezed his eyes shut as the razor winds buffeted him. Every step he took through the thick, heavy snow felt like he was putting in the effort of a sprint. With his body growing tired and his mind starting to grow foggy, Tigger rubbed his arms for as much warmth as he could manage in the storm. Then, through the blurry wall of white, he saw something not too far from him, so miraculous he'd have thought it was a mirage had he been in the desert. A rocky outcropping in a clearing provided brief respite from the blizzard, though not from the bitter cold.

Tigger leaned against the wall, but dared not sit down in the snow. He rubbed his hands together and breathed into them, watching the mist formed by his breath. Coming out here had been a mistake, even Tigger could see that clearly. It was dangerous and stupid. But he had to. The others had hurt him, and he had to find his family that he knew—he _knew_ —was out there waiting for him. "I hope they're all okay…" With a glance at the locket, Tigger took a breath and once again began marching forward into the snow. "Tiiiiggers!"

But in this weather, he couldn't see where he was going very well at all. What Tigger thought to be a solid foothold was revealed to be nothing but snow and gave way beneath him, sending him tumbling down the hillside; not a far fall, but one that would prove to be life-changing. At the bottom of the hill was a frozen lake that Tigger slid across helplessly as he attempted to climb back to his feet, his arms and legs waving wildly this way and that. He leaned back and, in an attempt to right himself up, over anticipated how much force to put into his swing forward. Toppling down onto his face caused the locket to slip from around his neck and slide ahead of him on the ice. Gasping desperately, Tigger clawed after it on all fours.

Unfortunately for Tigger, the frozen water ended at a sheer cliff. While the locket did not fall over, Tigger's momentum tried to make it so that he almost did. Catching himself on a fallen tree at the last second and grabbing onto the locket, Tigger held for dear life as he dangled over the edge of the cliff. "J-Just don't look d-down, Tigger…" he murmured, reminding himself of Piglet.

Wrapping his limbs around the fallen tree, Tigger began to slowly inch his way back toward solid ground. But the tree was not a sturdy one. Mere feet from safety, Tigger's stomach lurched as he heard a horrifying _crack_ and the tree shuddered. Eyes wide as saucers, he gazed at the spot where the tree met the open air at the very edge of the cliff, a fault steadily growing along its width. _No, no, nono…_ The wood splintered and fell, taking Tigger with it, his cried echoing around him.

Tigger slammed onto a smaller cliff halfway down, then tumbled off it and rolled down another hill. Though painful, it did save him from a far more permanent fate. Still, he was now not only freezing but more lost than ever before, the fall having gotten him all turned around. There'd be no turning back now, no way to know which way was home.

But…

As Tigger poked his head out of the snow and slid the locket back over his neck, something caught his attention beyond the veil of snow. Squinting to see more clearly, he pulled himself up to his feet and crept forward inch by inch, wary of it being another accident waiting to happen. But as it came into view, Tigger knew there'd be no incident here. He let out an awed gasp as the full realization of what he saw struck him.

Sitting on the edge of another cliff was a large tree covered from bottom to top in great white stripes formed of snow. The biggest, hugest, and most gigantical stripedy tree in all the entire Hundred Acre Wood. Was it? Could it be? "My family tree! I found it!"

Laughing and crying tears of both relief and joy, Tigger hurried the rest of the way to the tree and bounded up it in one swift motion, climbing from the roots to the trunk to the highest branches. "Hello! Hellooooo up there! Where are ya, Tiggers? It's me, Tigger!" He landed on a particularly large branch and held the letter up high, waving it above his head. "I got your letter and came all the way out here to see ya! Helloooo?"

No response.

"…Hello…?" Tigger stared up at the canopy of the tree, searching desperately for some sign, _any_ sign, of life. Nothing. Had they forgotten he was coming? Tigger stared down at the letter, running its words through his mind again and again, watching the ink get stained by his tears falling onto the paper. "But, I thought… I thought you were always there for me…" Tigger's legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the snow, the letter forgotten as the swept it up from his limp grasp and carried it away.

He was an idiot. He had gone on this trip to find his family, but he saw now how foolish that was. He was lost, cold, and alone. He had gone looking for someone who didn't exist, and probably never had. That's what Tigger had always prided himself on, wasn't it? That he was special? Unique? The only Tigger out there in the whole world? And now, only now, had he realized the full extent of what that meant.

The only one.

But Tigger's letter did not go far. Along a mountain path that wove down that very same cliff, Rabbit led the Roo, Eeyore, Pooh, Sora, Kairi, and Lea through the snow. The letter collided with their group—quite literally—when the wind brought it right into Lea's face. Lea grunted and tugged the paper off with his not-on-fire hand, just about ready to burn it with how agitated the cold weather had burned it. It wasn't until he saw the first few words that he quickly reversed the way his fingers were already beginning to heat up.

"Roo." Roo stopped and turned back to Lea, teeth chattering. Lea crouched down, handed the paper to the poor kid, and held his conjured flame close. "Look at this."

Roo held the letter in shivering hands and began to read it in the firelight. "'D-Dear Tigger'…" A gasp. "Tigger?!" He whipped his head around frantically, desperately searching for where the wind had carried the letter from, until finally his gaze caught on a small, sad spot of orange high up in a tree on the edge of a cliff. "Tigger! Is that you?! TIGGER! DOWN HEEERE!"

"Tigger!" Sora ran toward the tree at full speed, kicking up snow as he went. The others weren't far behind, with Kairi scooping up Roo to help him along. Even Eeyore moved as quickly as he could manage, though he still lingered at the back of the group. As they called him and their voices echoed around the snow-covered mountains, Tigger's ears perked up and he shifted from his pitiful, slouched position. Staring down at the group, tiredness and depression keeping him from registering the sight initially, he finally gasped as he recognized what was happening.

Tigger bounced down the tree, landing in front of the group. "Hey, you're not Tiggers… What're you guys doin' here?"

"'Doing'? What are we doing?!" Rabbit repeated incredulously. He marched forward, moving past Roo, and poked Tigger in the chest. "We came all this way to look for you! Now forget about this nonsense and come home!"

Tigger's heart fell. "Nonsense? Is that what you really think of me…?" He clutched his locket tight and curled his other hand into a fist. "NO!" he shouted, shocking the group, freezing Rabbit in place, and causing his voice to echo loudly through the mountains.

Lea stepped forward. "Tigger, are you _nuts_? Do you not realize how dangerous it is out here?"

Kairi nodded. "Tigger, come on. You need to get where it's nice and warm, and not stay out in the middle of a snowstorm."

"Exacticly!" Tigger snapped, waving his arms in the air. "That's why you should all go home, where it _is_ safe." He sniffed and shook his head as his eyes began to water. "But I've gotta wait here, in _my_ family tree, for my REAL FAMILY!"

 _FAMILY_

 _FAMILY_

 _FAMILY_

Tigger's echoing shouts shook the entire mountain and hushed the group into a nervous silence. Eeyore turned to Pooh. "Is that a rumbly in your tumbly, Pooh?"

Pooh took a step back. "I don't think so…"

Lea knew where this was going. He quickly spun toward the mountainside and thrust his arms out, conjuring a wall of fire between them and the cliff. Beyond the flames, he could already see a large mass of snow coming their way. The cries and shouts from the group had destabilized the snow, sending an avalanche tumbling down the mountains. Great. As if things couldn't have possibly gotten any worse than they already were.

But while fire may melt snow, there was just so much of it. The daunting whiteness quickly doused Lea's barrier, forcing him to whirl around to the others. " _Run_!" Roo, Tigger, and Rabbit took off, with Sora and Kairi quickly scooping up Eeyore and Pooh. There was nowhere really _to_ run, however. Not here on this cliff. With little other options, they moved up onto the upper branches of the large snow-striped tree as the avalanche continued to storm down toward them.

Lea himself didn't have much time, though. At the back of the group, he nearly got swept up in the snow himself before a barrier of interlocking hexagons saved him at the last second. On a tree overlooking him, Kairi held out her Keyblade and channeled a Reflect spell. When it shattered, Lea quickly leaped up to join her and Sora, who was already sending fireballs out into the snow. It wasn't doing much at all.

"Any ideas?"

"What if we try freezing it?" Sora asked. "When I fought a snow monster in Arendelle, I froze it solid since I couldn't get good blows on snow."

"A snow mons-?" Lea shook his head. That could wait for another day. "You expect to fight _this_?"

"Well, it'll stop the snow from flowing. Watch!" Sora held his Keyblade out and it began to glow blue. "Blizzag-AAAH!" Though the bolt of ice magic flew from his Keyblade and froze a chunk of the avalanche, it did little to stop the flow; in fact, all it accomplished was managing to send a chunk of ice down the mountainside, digging up rocks and trees and sending the whole thing coming their way. A boulder flew right toward Kairi and the nearby Pooh, and so Sora quickly dived toward them with his arms outstretched, painfully knocking all three of them onto their faces but avoiding the heavy rock.

Roo and Tigger weren't so lucky. The boulder grazed them, not hurting them but causing them to tumble off the branches and into the flowing snow, right over the cliff. As they tumbled, falling among the debris of splintered trees, unearthed rocks, and giant sundered icicles, Roo cried out and grabbed fearfully onto Tigger.

"I'm sorry!" he screamed.

"No, Roo. I am. I'm sorry I never bounced with you, who was always askin'."

Roo's eyes widened. "Bounce…" As the two fell toward certain demise, that word clicked in their minds. Bounce! Tigger took Roo in one hand and then reached out toward a large boulder falling beside them. The two stood as stably as they could on the falling debris and moved without a word. They stood on one leg, their bodies contorting, their tails winding tight and bodies twisting like corkscrews. With twin bouts of hollering laughter, Roo and Tigger let it all loose and launched up, bouncing this way and that as they spun through the air and rebounded across trees and icicles back, climbing back to the safety of the tree.

But the danger had not passed yet. As Tigger and Roo crashed into the tree, Lea stood his ground and stared up at the ice caused by Sora's Blizzaga that was coming their way. It looked a lot bigger this close. Summoning his chakrams in a flurry of flames, Lea planted his feet firmly on the branch and spun his weapons around in his hands. Fire erupted at his feet, scorching the bark and melting the snow beneath him, though it was quickly replaced by new snow from the avalanche. The ice sheet grew closer and closer. His chakrams growing red hot, Lea let out a roar and sent them flying, the burning wheels igniting and charging head-on toward the ice.

When at last the avalanche had calmed, and the snow now piled twice as high around the tree, Sora, Kairi, and Pooh slowly climbed to their knees and looked around at the aftermath. Tigger held Roo tight, and Roo held him tighter still. Rabbit and Eeyore were at the base of the tree, the former clinging to the trunk for dear life and the latter half-buried in snow. Lea stood in front of them all, hands outstretched and smoking, the wood of the branch at his feet charred black.

"Tigger…" Roo started.

Tigger looked down at the kid and grinned. "What a whoop-de-doopin', loop-de-loopin', ali-oopin' bounce that was! Why, that bounce was just as good as any ol' Tig-" Tigger stopped, his tail drooped, and he looked up to the tree. "Tigger…family member…"

"Tigger… Please don't go." Tigger looked down at Roo, who was holding his hand and well on the way to crying.

"But, Roo, I… I got a letter. A letter that, you know, I uh…" Tigger turned around this way and that, searching for it, but he couldn't find the paper anywhere. "I musta lost it in the avalanche. I can't even remember the words now…"

"It doesn't matter, Tigger," Kairi said. "Because they're thinking of you wherever you are."

"And always there for you," Roo added.

Tigger perked up at the familiar words. "You mean you all wrote that? You're my family in that letter?"

"I'm afraid we don't have much better to offer," Pooh said.

"Of course not." Tigger shook his head and clutched his locket. "Because there's nothing better than the best."

 **x-x-x**

The mood in Tigger's house was much more genuinely warm than it had been several hours prior. But despite that, it also felt much more somber. There were no party favors, no drinks, no cake or games. The decorations lay unnoticed and unmentioned by everyone there. But it was a far happier experience nonetheless, as everyone had returned to apologize and to revel in Tigger's safe return. The fire that Lea had lit seemed especially bright as it cast a glow over everyone in the room, especially Tigger and Roo sitting together with blankets wrapped around them and mugs of steaming hot chocolate courtesy of Kanga.

Sora, Kairi, and Lea stood in the back of the crowd as everyone else, even Rabbit, fussed over those two and praised Roo's bravery. They didn't need any time in the spotlight, they were just happy to have everyone safe and sound. Beside Lea, Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Lea. I dragged you here to cheer you up, but we ended up getting into a big mess because of it."

Lea let out a breath and slapped a hand down on Sora's shoulder. "You kidding? You helped me out, kid. Trust me." Smiling, Lea looked back over to Tigger chatting with everyone else. "If Tigger found who he's looking for, then I know that I'll find who I'm looking for."

"Who _are_ you looking for?" Kairi asked.

"Something we're both asking," Lea replied. "I don't got a clue. But I feel like someone out there is missing, waiting for me to find them." Sora and Kairi glanced at each other, something unsaid passing between them. Lea crossed his arms. "What is it?"

Both teens turned to Lea, and while Kairi looked at him with worry there was something more in Sora's eyes. Loss. The same sense of emptiness that Lea had seen in his own eyes whenever he looked in a mirror these last few weeks. "Ven told us you had a nightmare. The truth is…I've been having them too. It starts in Twilight Town, but goes somewhere else. Somewhere dark. And there's always someone just out of sight, just beyond my reach. Someone I feel like I should know but don't." He clutched at his shirt, grabbing the fabric tightly over his heart. "It's really tough…when you lose someone precious and there's a great big hole in your heart. It's familiar, too… I think I must have felt like this in Castle Oblivion."

"Sora…" Kairi rested a hand on his arm.

Lea lowered his arms. "Yeah… I think I know just what you mean, Sora."

"Who is it, Lea?"

"I don't know. I don't know who it is that we're missing, or where it is that they've gone, but I'm going to find them." Lea stared down at his hand, clenched it into a fist, and rested it against his forehead. "I'm going to bring them home and get rid of the hurt."

At the front of the house, Tigger cleared his throat and stood up on the chair, standing above everyone else. "Everyone, I uh, I just wanted to say—I'm sorry. I went off searchin' for my family, but I know now I didn't need to go lookin' far aways at all. And well, for Roo here for stickin' by me for thickest and thinnerest…" Tigger's hands went to his neck and he slipped the locket off his person then dangled it in front of Roo's face.

Roo stared at his reflection in the polished surface. "For me…?"

Tigger spread the chain open and slid it over Roo's head. "Only the best for my bestest little brother."

As Roo stared down at the empty locket's insides, Kairi moved forward and reached into her pocket to pull out a digital camera. "You'll need a picture for that, Roo!"

"A family portrait!" Tigger agreed. He scooped up Roo and rounded up everyone else, while Kairi fiddled with the options on the camera and set up the timer. She set it down on the table and then ran over to grab Sora.

Lea looked down in surprise when he felt Sora take him by the wrist. "Oh no, I don't think I'd quite fit in."

"Lea, come on!"

"Yeah, come on!" Tigger bounced over to the two of them and took Lea's other wrist in both hands. "I am insistinating!"

Lea tripped over his own two feet as Tigger pulled him into the group, but he was quickly pushed upright and Tigger wrapped his shoulder around the redhead while sitting on a stool to stay at eye level. Roo bounced up between the two of them and landed in Tigger's grip. Kairi once more checked the timer, then ran over to Sora's side.

"Okay, everyone. Smile!"


	8. Someone Precious

**Chapter 8: Someone Precious**

"This world is full of light."

Lea looked over to Roxas, who was holding a blue crystal ball to the sky and watching as the sunlight filtered through it. "What, you getting poetic on me?"

Roxas didn't look away from the ball. He turned it slightly between his fingers, watching the light dance. "It's just such a nice change of pace, isn't it?"

Lea shrugged and looked around them, at everything going on in Twilight Town that afternoon. It wasn't too crowded yet, with the streets active for sure but not outright filled with people. The afternoon sun filtered down from above, making the orange hue of the buildings especially vibrant. Not just the buildings, the people too. People just seemed _happier_ with the sun shining down on them, as if its warmth made all their worried melt away. "Yeah, I guess it is." In more ways than one.

The two, Lea and Roxas, had come to spend a day in Twilight Town after some time apart. Roxas was still getting things settled in his life, putting all the scattered pieces together, and Lea helped where he could but a lot of it was personal stuff that only Roxas could do. They hadn't found the time to pick back up on their old ice cream on the clock tower tradition, something Lea definitely found himself missing if he was being honest. He didn't tell Roxas though—wouldn't be cool to admit. Lea watched as Roxas pocketed his little blue treasure and turned to Lea with a smile. "So, what's going on with you?" He spoke while walking backwards with his arms behind his head and a cheeky smirk on his face.

Lea shrugged. "Repairs in Radiant Garden are still going on and I'm helping where I can, but it's nice to get a day off. To be honest, I'm kind of overwhelmed."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You're overwhelmed, Skuld's underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just 'whelmed'?"

Lea blinked. "Skuld?"

Roxas nearly slammed into another person as he was walking backwards and took the hint, turning around to watch where he was going. He continued speaking without missing a beat, "With Ephemer, yeah. Or maybe disappointed is the better way to put it? They're trying to go out, but twice now he's stood her up and apologized the next day for being busy at the last minute. They haven't argued yet and Ephemer's an honest guy, but I think…"

"Hold up." Lea reached forward and grabbed Roxas by the shoulder, both to stop him as a tram came by and to stop his explanation. "Skuld and Ephemer? Roxas, I got no clue who those two are man."

Roxas looked up at his taller friend. "Wait you don't?"

Lea shook his head. "Never heard those names in my life."

"I could've sworn I introduced you…" Roxas said, trailing off as he dug through his memory. Then he shrugged. "Ah well, maybe not. But no big deal! They should both be at the usual spot. How's a race there sound?"

Lea smirked and rested his hands on his hips. "You think you can beat me in a race after the last time?"

"Last time a tram cut me off, but that won't happen again!"

"Heh, sure thing." Lea ruffled Roxas's hair, knowing he hated it. When Roxas finally got him to back off, Lea looked up at the sky and brought a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "I think I got time before I should head back, so why not? Last one there's a Dusk, what do you say?" Lea looked back toward Roxas, but the blond was gone.

"I say I'm already halfway there!" he heard Roxas shout from the far side of the crowded street.

Lea laughed. "You little brat!" He broke into a run, moving through the crowds and dodging pedestrians as he made his way to the back alley room under the train station that Roxas had shown him a couple visits ago. It was the clubhouse, as it were, of a trio of kids the two of them had always seen during their Organization XIII days. But come to think of it, Lea didn't think any of them were named Ephemer or Skuld. Not that Roxas couldn't have made more friends though, and it was entirely possible he was wrong about the trio's names anyway. Oh well.

As Lea apologetically shoved pedestrians aside, he kept that spiky blond brat of a friend in his sights at all times. Roxas was headed for the road up the mountainside; in that case, Lea would go for the sandlot. Less uphill travel to tire him out. But as Lea moved through the streets, a loud honking noise caused him to stumble back with a string of curses and a close save. Irony of ironies, a tram roared right past along its tracks right in front of Lea, cutting off his movement. When it had passed, Roxas was gone from sight. Of course.

Lea renewed the race with a vigorous sprint. The crowds grew thinner as he got further from the shops and closer to the sandlot, allowing him to see another obstacle in his way. A pile of wood planks, probably leftovers from when they were setting up the Struggle tournament stage, lay on the ground in the middle of the road to the sandlot. Nothing Lea couldn't handle. With a laugh, he leaped into the air mid-sprint, soaring through the warm, light-filled air of Twilight Town and right over the wood. The sun filtering down from above hit his grinning face, the light dancing over his bright red hair and the orange of his surroundings.

And when he landed, all of it was gone.

Lea's sneakers splashed into shallow water over cobblestone, not dry sand as he had expected. A light drizzle had seemingly come out of nowhere and caused his hair to lose its spikes, making it lie flat against his neck and to fall over his eyes. Brushing his bangs aside, Lea looked around in silent confusion. The sun had vanished, the rain fell from an overcast sky. The sounds of chattering people and honking trams had gone with it, leaving him in complete silence except for the sound of the rain landing in the water that went up to his ankles.

"What the hell…?"

Lea's voice sounded muffled, far away, as if someone had stuffed cotton in his ears. That's how things sounded whenever he had taken a corridor of darkness as Axel, but this was definitely _not_ a corridor of darkness. It did have another similarity to the dark realm, though: The colors were dulled. Even his own clothes were nowhere near as vibrant as before. Looking around, Lea took in his surroundings. Instead of orange, there was a lot of—again, dull—purple. The roofs of the buildings were purple. The star patterns on the cobblestones were purple. But there was a startling blue as well, standing out because it was the only thing in this world not dulled. Brightly colored blue flowers adorned every single windowsill around him, so bright in contrast to their surroundings that they practically glowed. And standing above it all was a clock tower, but not Twilight Town's familiar sight. This one was formed of too large towers with the gears and pendulum suspended between them. The catch? They were frozen, like time wasn't moving.

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore…" Lea muttered. Something told him that he wouldn't find Roxas in this world—whatever this world was—either.

Then, something caught Lea's attention. Movement out of the corner of his eye, just barely in his vision. He spun around to see nothing there. Was he seeing things? Maybe his own shadow? Lea didn't think so. The pain in his head and growing ache in his heart told him otherwise.

Not to mention the footsteps behind him.

Once again Lea spun around, and once again he was too late to get a good look at whoever was there. But unlike last time he did get something of a glimpse, not that doing so did him any favors. Just before the stranger had vanished from sight, he noticed a color. Black. Not the black of shadows, but a leathery black, an all too familiar black. Organization XIII's coat. For a brief moment, Lea's surroundings were lit up brightly as fire swirled around his palms and his chakrams formed in his grasp, but soon enough the dimmed atmosphere enveloped him once again. Lea remained on the defensive, his hands twitching as he held his chakrams tightly, his eyes flicking back and forth in every direction.

Who could it be? Organization XIII was gone and most of the members were accounted for. Braig? Unlikely, Riku told them what happened to him after Kairi got her Keyblade, and someone surviving something so gruesome, even something like Braig, was impossible. Larxene was gone too; Sora, Donald, and Goofy had dealt with her true self on some world and been unable to save her. Demyx and Luxord were unlikely to ever pick up the coat again, knowing the issues they'd had with the Organization. That left Marluxia, who would certainly love to mess with Lea, but—

Movement. Footsteps splashing in the water, moving toward the staircase to his left. Lea turned on his hell and lit up his chakrams, face to face with the stranger in the hood, who stared at him with their face hidden in shadow and one hand on the staircase's rail. Suddenly he didn't feel so good. As quickly as they had come, his chakrams' flames vanished. The weapons followed soon after. Lea grasped at his head, suddenly hit with a searing migraine. As he grit his teeth and looked up through wet, hanging strands of long red hair, the figure was already running down the steps. But the way they moved, the slim shape of their body, that was clearly a female under that black coat and far too short to be Larxene. He wasn't dealing with Organization XIII. Which meant now he had to catch them even more than ever, to ask why they wore that coat.

"Wait!" The headache lessened, but it still lingered a bit behind his eyes. Lea didn't let that stop him. He took off after the strange girl in the black coat, moving down the stairs quickly but carefully, making sure not to let the water flowing down it slip him up. The girl had a lead on him though, and had already reached the bottom of the stairs and ran around a corner. Lea was close behind though, as soon as he was on level ground he could pick up the pace and—

 _C̛ͨͪ̂̋ͨ͏̛͕̭̱̞o̽̈́̈́̕͢҉͍u͈͇͚̝͎̽͝l̑̉͋ͨ̀̚҉̩̩̞d͔̓̓͗ͫ̒͡ ͖̱̦̰̲̖̬ͤ̇̓͌ͭ̾̈́̇͐͡i̺͇̱̫̮͚ͦ̅ͦ̊̍͌̈́͛̀̀̕ţ̷̲̗̙̯͖̮͚̒͛͢ ̅̾ͣͥ͂͑̎҉͇̲͖̜͔̩̭̗͜͢b͖̻̭̟̝̼̩̻̅̓̏̓̔̏̋͞e̲͈̳͕͌̓̾́.͖̜͕͕̞͙̖̅ͣ͟.̦̌̇ͪͪ̿̊͟.͗ͩ̆̏̋͗̌͢҉̫̲̲̠̯͘ ̼͙͍̰̺͉̱̪̙ͯͬ͘t͋ͯͫͦ҉̴̲̹̰͙h͇̟̬̓̓̀ͩͫ͗̔̆a̽ͯ̾͏̼̘͉t̨̝͚̰̍̂̀ͦ̅̔͟ ̶̴̌҉̭̩͉̹͔͍̩͙ŷ͙̜̯̺̞̭̥͌̌ͮͨ͘͝ở̸̧͉̭ͦͭ͒̿͗ủ̷͋̉͗ͦͩ̓҉͚̞̠ͅ'̾̓͂̽͏̢̖͓͓͓̩̱̹̘̞v̽̅ͮ͋̽҉̷̩͍͕̲̣̜̹ͅĕ͓̰͞ ̸̫̮̙̜̺͓̎́͒ͧͮͭ̈́̃́͟k̗͖̖͉͍̩̣ͮ̃͗̑̓n̡̪̣͔͙̺̞̽͗͊͂ͪ̚̚͞ǫ̝̝̱̣ͨ͆ͤ͑ͧ̽ͅw̰͈̙̗͓̰̦̬͖ͬ͊̆͡n̷̦̾ͮͥ̅ͭ͜ ̌ͧ͑ͨͮ̽̐ͦ҉̮̱͉̘ḁ̻̙ͪ̈ͥ͋͋͆̂b̢͈̟͆ͫ͂̓̐̚͟o͍̲̊̿ͯ̾ͫ̑ͬ͑͢ư̶̦̠̫̘̗̖͕̥̼ͥ̔̐ͣt̡̗̝̳͉͍̻̾̇̓͋̓ͧ̈ͅ ̡͚̹̠̱̰̤̥̹̐͛̿̋ͨ̑̐ͪ͞h̢̼̦͖̦ͮ̓̄̿̈͋̔ͫê̛͖̙͙̋̾̍̔̔͂͆r̴̛͚͐͗ ̶͔͉̝̱̣͍̌͋͑̓ͣf̵̨͚̯̫̟̲̪̤͕̝ͣͫͣ̚͢o̰͚͇̅̊̒̆ͯ͢͡r̴̢̳̠͙̭̆̉͛͜ ̸̢̝͔̦̘͓͛͂͂̉͟a̪̫̝̮͒ͣ ̛̹͉͖̗̩̬̖͕͐ͬ̓̇ͩ͆̅̆́͝l̢̤̲͖̩͔͐ͮ͞o̵̰̰̼͖̫͉̻ͪ͆̒̈̾ͥ́͂̚n̶̡͓̘̫̭͎̯͒̚͢ͅg̶̲͎͇͓͔̰̅̍͑͒͋ͯ͗͑ ̩̮̭̰͙̫̱͛͂̈̎̈́͡t̰̰̃̄͐ͯ̏̉͘i̢ͭ̓ͪ͏̵̣̼m̸̻̜ͣ̈͆̾͑̍̐͢e͓̫̭͎̩͚͗̊̈́͡͡,́̾͏̞͙̬ ̧̊͏̵̤̗͍a̧̫͚̜̬͖͐̆́̈́n̗̣̳̙̫͔͊̈́̓͞d̢̖̮͔͕̀̆͑ͬ́̏ͫ̅̚ ̙̣̲͈̙͔̱̬̯̔̾̾̃͜͞n̥̱̠͚̜̦̩͆̾̅̈ͬ̍ͣͨ͗͢ò͍̼͓͇͔͕̘̇͛̿͂̓̔̀t̴̹͔͖̂̔ͬ ̶̢̹̲̻͚͓̻͉̰ͦ͟ͅt̬̣͕̜͈ͬ̂̂ͣ͟͢o͓̹̩͙̯ͤͯ̿̈́̂ͩ̚̚͢ļ̵̫͍̤̻͑̏ͪ͛ͯ̕ḓ̤̪̠̱͚͖̿̏̏ͫͭ ̡͕̞̼̭̞͚̣̀ͤͨ̂ͯ͘mͭ̉͏̖͔̯e̵̗̥̣̮̜̺̳͐̔ͣͤͨ̑ͥ̄͜ ̐̑̒ͬ̿̇̈́̀̇͏̦a̠̞ͮ͢n̴̸̡̫̘̄̌ͮ͐̒̂̚ỷ͓͖͍͍̗ͮ͛͛͂͢t̴̨̨͇̩̦̓ͤͭ̐h͗͒̎ͭͥ̃́͏̤i̷̫̲ͪ̍͋̊̇͟n̸̷̯̘͍ͬͤͨͮ̓̚g̨̣̳̮̗͍̜̘̣̲̾̇ͤ͜͟?͙͈̓̆̽̀̚͠_

"Who-o-oa!" Lea's heart caught on fire and his head felt like it was being crushed by a trash compactor. His legs gave out beneath him and he tumbled painfully the rest of the way down the stairs, earning a new bruise for each step he slammed into before landing face-down in the shallow water at the bottom, the rain pelting his back. Lea groaned and looked up from his fall though was yet to climb to his feet. Voices were running through his mind at a million miles a minute, and alongside them images too blurred and too fast to make out individually. A sunset, ice cream, Organization XIII…

Lea gasped and stood up, shaking his head to clear the images away. He didn't have time for this. He had no idea where he was, and his only lead was getting away. Hurrying, Lea darted down the road that the hooded girl had gone. He could ask questions about…whatever _that_ was…later. After asking about why she had that coat and why he wasn't in Twilight Town anymore. As he moved down the street, she came into view. "Wait! I just want to talk!"

The girl looked back over her shoulder, and for a moment Lea could see beneath her hood. Silver hair? As quickly as she had glanced back at him, she turned her eyes ahead and moved into a new part of town. But Lea had seen it. He didn't know any girls with silver hair, but silver hair _and_ an Organization XIII coat? That wasn't a good combination.

"I just want to talk! Wait!" Lea was growing irritated now. This girl, whoever she was, wasn't interested at all in waiting up for him. And the worst of it was, no matter how much faster he went he never seemed to catch up to her. In fact, _was_ he moving faster? The distance between them was growing larger, but she hadn't sped up; if anything, Lea could almost swear he was going _backwards_. His limbs were heavy and sluggish, it was a struggle just to take a single step. "What is…going on…?"

They were on an elevated road overlooking a park now, with a lighthouse at the end of it. The water at their feet fell off the sides and into the sea below, but it never got any shallower with the constant rain keeping it in supply. The girl in the black coat had come to a stop at the base of the lighthouse, and Lea finally managed to catch up to her. As soon as he did, his wobbling legs threatened to collapse and he had to stand there with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

"Finally…caught you… Who…" As he looked up at the girl, her face concealed in the shadow of her hood, the air in front of her seemed to ripple and distort. "What?"

The girl never said a word, but she took a step back with one hand pulling her hood further over her face and the other held in front of her nervously, as if defending herself from the distortion—or from Lea.

"What's—"

 _ **WHAM!**_

Something invisible slammed hard into Lea, sending him back with such force that he gained tunnel vision from the sheer speed. Everything went black for a few short moments. When Lea awoke, he awoke to the low grinding of gears and flow of water.

His body ached too much to move, but on his back Lea knew he wasn't outside anymore, though the dulled colors told him he was still in that strange world. He was underground, in a waterway by the looks of things. Large gears moved in the back, water poured down from holes in the dark walls and pooled beneath the walkway he lay on, flowing down to who-knows-where. And Lea wasn't alone.

"How did you get here?"

Lea turned his head straight up, where he saw the figure in the black coat looming over him. No…this wasn't the same girl from before. That was a male's voice, and not one he recognized. There were _two_ strangers in black coats in this world of darkness.

"Who are you?" Lea croaked out in a hoarse voice. "Where _is_ 'here'?"

The hooded boy stared at Lea for a prolonged moment before his shoulders slumped ever so slightly, as if he had sighed though Lea hadn't heard anything. He crouched down and leaned over Lea, peering at him with the hood preventing Lea from returning the favor. "The Nightmare says that everyone comes here for a reason, and yet I cannot fathom a reason for _you_ , of all people, to appear here."

Well, this kid sure was fitting that coat's 'helplessly cryptic' requirement. "Join the club."

"It doesn't matter. By choice or chance, you cannot control what you are not aware of." The boy held his hand out over Lea's face. Lea let out a low groan and, against his wishes, his eyelids began to droop. Damn it, what was this? Was the kid casting a sleep spell? "Your friend is in good hands. Good night."

 **x-x-x**

Once again Lea's eyes opened slowly, though at least the pain was gone this time. He met darkness this time too, but a more familiar darkness. His bedroom in his apartment, back at Radiant Garden. In bed. Lea groaned and rubbed his face with both hands. He had a hell of a headache. Through the slightly-opened blinds of his window he could see a black but cloudless sky. A soft blue-green glow from the clock beside him cast shadows across the sparse bedroom, the numbers showing that it was two in the morning. Two in the morning and he didn't expect he'd be falling back asleep any time soon. Lea sat up in bed with his arm resting on a propped up knee and his forehead resting in his head.

"Another dream about 'em…" Just a dream. Roxas was gone, and so was… Was…

 _The poles were not like his chakrams. As Lea attempted to spin them around his fingers, he remembered that too late. They went flying from his hands, up into the air. Having not expected to lose them, Lea didn't prepare to catch them. The burning wood crashed onto him and went out, but not before sending some of the flames onto his clothing._

 _"Ah! Hot, hot!" Lea slapped his hands on his burning jacket, then tore it off and stomped it on the ground._

 _"Lea!"_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _jumped up to_ _h̸̘̲̜̰̹͔̹̒ͥͯ̄̀̚e̡̪̘̰̮͉̎͋̾̆ͬṛ̥̓̅͂͋̄͂̓̌͘_ _feet and ran over even as Stitch cackled wildly and clapped his hands even more._

 _"I'm fine," he assured_ _h̸̘̲̜̰̹͔̹̒ͥͯ̄̀̚e̡̪̘̰̮͉̎͋̾̆ͬṛ̥̓̅͂͋̄͂̓̌͘_ _, taking in a deep breath. "I really loved this jacket, though." Lea groaned and leaned down to pick it up. It wasn't beyond repair; thankfully he had put the flames out in time. It was crumpled and stained, though. Nothing a quick wash couldn't fix._

 _"Here, let me help with that." Nani stood up from her spot on the stairs and motioned for Lea to follow her. "We can clean that inside."_

 _Lea looked down at his jacket then shrugged. "Sure, thanks." He followed Nani up the stairs, toward the house, and ruffled_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _'s hair while he walked past_ _h̸̘̲̜̰̹͔̹̒ͥͯ̄̀̚e̡̪̘̰̮͉̎͋̾̆ͬṛ̥̓̅͂͋̄͂̓̌͘_ _. "Don't get into any trouble without me, alright?"_

 _"I've got it memorized."_

 _"Ha! Sure."_

"Damn it…" Lea grasped his head as memories flooded him. He knew they were memories, and yet they were _wrong_. This wasn't how he remembered this going down. Sora had been there, but… Well, had he? Lea's mental image was warping, flickering, like static interfering on a television screen. Someone else was superimposed on Sora's image in that memory of Traverse Town, and sometimes Sora was superimposed on theirs.

 _"So, Lea." Nani's voice caught Lea by surprise, and he turned to see her walking out of the laundry room. "We've met before, but I don't think we've ever really been introduced. Is_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _your little s̴̰̪̏ͫ͋̄̿͆͊͟͢i̢̮̪͂͆̉͋̐ͨ͌͝ș̸̵̳̩͙̯̙́̿̂ͭ̏̓ţ̸͓̖̝͓͎̬ͩͪ͌͝ͅe̟̭̣̳̜̹͍̊̾͛ͨ̂ͥ͠ȑ̠̭̪̋ͬ̓͜?"_

 _Lea choked. He was sure his reaction to those words would have been hilarious if he had seen them from the outside, feeling his face heat up and his eyes bug out, but from his perspective he was absolutely dumbfounded. "W-What?" he managed to get out through soft laughter. "No, no. We're just friends; really close friends, but just friends."_

 _"Oh." Nani almost sounded disappointed. "It's just been so hard raising Lilo without our parents, I was hoping there'd be someone to talk to about it."_

 _Lea frowned and rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground. "Well, I mean, I guess technically I did raise_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _and Roxas, but…" Nani didn't seem to hear his mumblings, and he wasn't sure if he was glad of that or not. His frown deepened, his brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. They weren't blood related, but could it be said that he was like the big brother to_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _and Roxas after all? It was a bizarre thought, to say the least, and he didn't think he liked it. But still…_

 _Lea turned his head up and looked out the window, watching_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _play in the courtyard down the steps_. _Ŝ̉҉͏̠̝̫̜ẖ̸͕̐̿ͭͩ̋͡e̶̷̡̖̙̙̮̙̗ͭ̒̌̏_ _chased Stitch and that dog around in circles, dodging their tackles and laughing all the time. He felt a warmth in his chest, one that as Axel only two people in all the worlds had ever been able to make him feel. As_ _X͔͎͍͚͔̣̹͑͊ͬ̒̊̓̈́̃͂́̀͡i͓̞͙̜̲̟̭ͪͣͬ͂͢ő̠̻̫͚̮͙̯̣ͮͭ̃́͝͡nͣ͛ͧ͜͢҉̘̳͙̠̮͚_ _fell to the ground laughing and pushed the dog off of_ _h̸̘̲̜̰̹͔̹̒ͥͯ̄̀̚e̡̪̘̰̮͉̎͋̾̆ͬṛ̥̓̅͂͋̄͂̓̌͘_ _before he could lick_ _h̸̘̲̜̰̹͔̹̒ͥͯ̄̀̚e̡̪̘̰̮͉̎͋̾̆ͬṛ̥̓̅͂͋̄͂̓̌͘_ _face raw, Lea wondered if maybe the idea wasn't so far-fetched after all._

"DAMN IT!" Lea shouted, swinging his arm to the side and knocking his clock down the floor with a crash. The only light keeping his bedroom illuminated went out. The dream triggered these broken memories. The truth was trying to come out from the depths of his heart. It wasn't just a dream, Lea knew that for sure. In his line of work, there was no such thing as 'just a dream'. If he hadn't already been sure that he had lost someone, that there was someone missing from this picture who should be there, then his encounter with those hooded figures in that world of darkness cemented it.

But who was it?

" _Your friend is in good hands. Good night."_

Whoever it was, did the people in the hoods have them? Were they the ones who made him forget? Lea's hands grasped at his sheets. "If Organization XIII is back again…"

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Lea looked up. Someone was knocking on his door; not his bedroom door, the front door to his apartment. Lea groaned as he got up out of bed and dealt with a sudden headrush, stumbling slightly from the vertigo. After shaking it off he knelt down and picked up a discarded shirt from the other day, threw it on, and moved into his kitchen to open the door.

Standing in the apartment complex's illuminated hallway, one fist raised and ready to knock again, was a woman in red hair done up in a hasty ponytail. Lea squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. "Cissnei?"

"Hey." Cissnei unfurled her fingers into a wave, then lowered her hand and moved her arms behind her back.

Lea rubbed his eyes. "Uh, hey back at you, but it's two in the morning. What's with the house call? Did something happen?" He glanced at her attire: a simple white shirt and black pajama pants. "You're not exactly dressed for work."

"Yeah, uh, well…" Cissnei tapped the toes of her left foot against the floor and glanced to the side as a thoughtful looked passed over her face. Lea glanced down at the sound. She had slid on some sandals before coming over. All in all, the look was a pretty bizarre deviation from the Cissnei he was used to seeing. If he didn't know her face, he wouldn't have even been sure it was his next-door neighbor he was talking to.

"Anyway," Cissnei said, snapping Lea out of his thoughts, "These hastily built apartments don't exactly have the thickest walls. I heard something crash and then you shouting. You okay?"

Lea hesitated for a moment. How much did Cissnei know? And furthermore, why was he asking that first question? Cissnei was a friend, right? At the very least a comrade. He let out a sigh and his shoulders drooped. "I'm not," he admitted softly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"…Sure. Come on in though, we don't wanna wake anyone else up chatting out here." He stepped aside, holding the door open and flipping the light on. Once Cissnei came inside the two of them sat down at Lea's kitchen table. Well, Cissnei did. Lea moved over to the counter and started brewing some coffee. "We're up anyway."

Cissnei watched him from the table. "Bad dream tonight, then?"

Lea waited until he poured the coffee into cups before answering. His mind was still on his broken memories. "You don't know the half of it."

"Fill me in."

Lea sighed and sat down. "I'm not sure how much you've been keeping tabs on me, but lately I've been feeling like something—some _one_ —is missing. Someone who should be part of our lives but isn't."

Cissnei nodded. "Sora's mentioned it."

Lea let out a short, humorless chuckle. That kid could not keep a secret. "Well, Sora thinks so too, he shared that with me while we were inside Pooh's book. Says he's having dreams, dreams that start in Twilight Town but go…somewhere else." He stared down into his coffee, the images of that unfamiliar, sleeping world replaying over and over again in his mind. He could almost feel the rain still pelting his body.

"And that's what you dreamt about tonight?" Cissnei asked while taking a sip from the cup Lea had provided her.

"Right. And in that strange city, a city where it was like time itself was asleep, there was another similarity to Sora's dreams. He described it like someone always just out of reach, constantly staying out of sight. Someone who leaves you with a big hole in your heart." His fingers tightened around his own cup. "But I saw them. I saw the person just out of sight."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know." Another dry laugh. "Isn't that just perfect? I see someone who tries to avoid being spotted, and I can't even tell who it is." Lea stared out the window into Radiant Garden under the calming blanket of midnight. He watched the stars twinkle. "…They were wearing black coats."

Cissnei's eyes widened and she choked on her coffee, almost spitting it up though catching herself before it came to that. "B-Black coats?! You mean—"

Lea nodded. "Like Organization XIII's coats, yeah. I saw two people dressed in the Organization's uniform in that dark city: one male, one female. I'd say probably teenagers, based on the size. The girl didn't say a word, the boy asked what I was doing there. How I found that place, wherever it was."

Coffee was long forgotten now. "Do you think they're really Organization, or wearing the coats for some other reason?" Cissnei asked.

"No clue."

Cissnei sighed. "Just in case, we need to tell people to be on guard. Leon. Especially Sora."

"No."

Lea could feel Cissnei staring at him in a silent mix of surprise and confusion, though he didn't return the favor. He rested his hand against his forehead and let out a breath. "No. We don't want to worry anyone."

"Lea, this is kind of a big deal. If Organization XIII is back—"

"We don't know that." Leon squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "We don't know that for sure. And until we do, I'm looking into this alone. To learn more about them."

Cissnei stood up and slammed her hands down on the table. "Why do you think you can just run off and handle this on your own?!"

"Because it's _my problem!"_ Lea shouted back at her. "I'm the only accounted-for member of the Organization who _cares enough_ to repent for what happened. I _can't_ allow another Organization to take the old one's place!"

"Bullcrap, Lea! This has nothing to do with that and you know it!"

Lea jumped to his feet. "Where do you get off claiming to know what I think?!"

"That's my _job_ , Lea! You start this conversation talking about this friend you can't remember, and then you start rambling about Organization XIII and expect me to think _repenting_ is the real reason you're going after them? You don't need to repent for anything!"

Lea grew quiet. He stared down at his feet and then turned to the side, his arms crossed. His gaze never lifted up. "The boy said something, just before I woke up. 'Your friend is in good hands.'"

"He has them?"

"Unless he's bluffing, but I don't think he is. So I have to find…her." Despite himself, Lea smiled. _Her_. He knew for sure, his missing friend was a girl.

"If you're not looking too into a dream, anyway."

"You really think that?"

Cissnei smiled. "Of course not. There's no such thing as 'just a dream' in our line of work." For the first time that night, Lea let out real laughter. Great minds think alike. Cissnei kept her gaze on him for a few more moments before adding, "I'm coming with you."

Lea turned to her. "What? Why? I'm leaving to find my friend, not to find yours."

"Digging for information is part of my job. You'll want me if you're going to look for anything." Then she crossed her arms. "But really, you think a friend of yours isn't a friend of mine?"

Lea let his arms drop. "Alright then. The two of us off adventuring across worlds to find a missing friend. I don't have a Keyblade, but I think we can manage."

"Yeah, about that. How do you even plan on getting off-world?"

Lea grinned.

 **x-x-x**

One hour and fresh sets of clothes later, Cissnei and Lea approached Radiant Garden's Gummi hangar under the cover of night. They weren't exactly sneaking, but they didn't especially want to be seen either. Not because they weren't allowed there, but because they didn't want to get yelled at by Cid for what they were about to do. He was very protective of his Gummi ships.

Cissnei slid her Restoration Committee membership card into the lock and the door into the hangar opened for the two of them. As they made their way to the nearest ship, Lea caught sight of a red and yellow one resting in the hangar. The _Highwind_. Sora and Kairi hadn't gone back to the Destiny Islands yet, huh?

 _Click_.

The lights of the hangar turned on and for a brief moment Lea was ready to run for his life from an angry Cid. But it wasn't a swear-happy mechanic standing in the open doorway behind him, it was a spiky-haired teen instead.

"Sora? What are you doing here?" Cissnei asked.

"I could ask you two the same question. I was just following you." Sora yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. "I was getting a drink of water when I saw you guys run by Merlin's house through the window. What's going on, you going somewhere?"

Lea and Cissnei glanced at each other, then Lea relented. "We're going to go find her—the girl we were talking about, the one we both know is missing."

Sora's face brightened. "I knew she was a girl," he said to himself. Then he laughed and said more loudly, "Or well, I 'felt' it, I guess."

"You wanna come with?" Lea asked.

Sora looked conflicted. He took in a breath through his teeth then let it out and, dejectedly, shook his head. "I _want_ to, of course. But I can't. There's still a lot going on back home, and the school year is almost over but we're not there yet. I can't just take off without warning for the third time in a row."

"Yeah, I hear ya. Understandable."

Sora looked around at the docked ships while he asked his next question. "So where are you going first? Do you have any leads?"

"None." And damn if that wasn't hard to admit. "But I'm going to try Castle Oblivion first; its memory rooms might work, or maybe Vexen's journals. He was all about keeping records, and if he ever met this girl even once then he has info on her somewhere. And…" He trailed off and glanced beside him, at Cissnei. "Actually, Cissnei, you're part of the reason we're going there first, too."

Cissnei looked over at him in surprise. "Wait, me?"

"Yeah. See, that talk we had about the Replica Program has been bugging me." Lea scratched the side of his head and thought back to the Riku Replica. "While we're digging through Vexen's notes for our missing friend, we can probably find info on that. You think Vexen based the replicas off of Garland, right?"

"Well, that's the theory. As Even he did take notes about homunculi."

"Homu-what?" Sora asked.

Cissnei chuckled. "Artificial humans, like Garland."

"Well, there you go!" Lea clapped his hands together. "We'll hit two birds with one stone, find whatever we can about whatever we find!"

"Brilliant wording," Cissnei said.

"If that doesn't work, I do have a suggestion." Lea and Cissnei turned to Sora, who folded his arms behind his head. "After you're done in Castle Oblivion, stop by a world called Shibuya and look for a friend of mine there named Joshua. He's all about bringing back people and things who are gone."

"What do you mean by that?"

Sora turned around with a knowing smile. "Oh, you'll see." He paused, then turned once more to the Gummi ships. "Cid will be mad if one of these goes missing you know. So…" He dug into his pockets and pulled something blue out. "Here."

Lea caught the object as Sora tossed it to him. It was shaped like a star, but with one of the points replaced by a green shape resembling a lightning bolt. "This is…"

"A Star Shard. Like the one King Mickey gave you when you went to Castle Oblivion to find Ven. Right?" Lea looked up at Sora, who had a sad smile on his face. He rubbed his arm and stared down at his feet. "The truth is, I found it in my house, in an empty bedroom. Just sitting on the floor."

Lea stared at the object in his hands. It suddenly felt heavy, like it was more important than just transport.

"Where did it come from?" Cissnei asked.

Sora only shrugged in answer. He walked over and put his hand over the Star Shard that rested in Lea's open palm. "Just looking at it makes me feel sad. You can have it, Lea. Find her for us."

When Sora stepped back, Lea curled his fingers around the Star Shard. "I will, Sora. I'll find her and bring her home safe. Get it memorized."


	9. Castle Oblivion

**Chapter 9: Castle Oblivion**

He slowly removed his gloved hand from the intruder's face as the Sleep spell began to take effect. As the stranger's eyelids began to droop, his body in turn began to fade away. It truly was a mystery how this man—Lea, if he was correct—had come to be here in this illusion of what had once been. Perhaps Lea's heart had resonated with another, that there was a stronger bond than he had anticipated. But no, that wouldn't make sense. Everyone should have forgotten. The only reason he himself hadn't forgotten was that he wasn't around to remember in the first place.

Well whatever had caused it, it didn't matter now, because the spell had done its job and Lea was no longer in this world. As he had slept, so he had vanished. Around the hooded figure, the world was silent except for the grinding of the large gears and the flow of water, but he knew that beyond this waterway the nightmare was as asleep as ever. He stood there in the darkness, alone, listening to the gears turn, as despite his best efforts his mind went back to the question for a third time. How? And, perhaps more importantly, who would follow?

"Who was that?"

The shadows concealing his face hid his slight surprise at the voice. The little Nightmare never actively sought him out before, he was always the one to initiate conversation, so why was it doing so now? He turned around to see the creature, about as tall as a Moogle and covered in purple fur. A dark pink cape swished slightly back and forth, as if caught on a nonexistent wind, while its paws gripped a little purse. Its glowing red eyes stared wide, unblinking, up at him.

At first, he was irritated that the little thing would bother him. But soon, an idea formed in his head. If anyone could answer his question, this little thing could. "I should ask you," he said in as level a tone as he could manage. "You said everyone comes to this nightmare here for a reason."

The Nightmare tilted its head as it caught on to the unsaid question. It nodded after a moment's contemplation, the chain from which the purse hung around its neck jingling. "In this world of scattered dreams and far-off memories, everything in this living nightmare has a reason to be here. If he was here, then he had a reason."

He bit back an exasperated sigh. This little monster was his only lead to answer this anomaly, an anomaly that _needed_ to be answered lest everything fall apart. He couldn't afford to rub it the wrong way. "Then what was that reason?"

"What was yours?"

Once more there was silence save for the grinding of gears and flow of water. He narrowed his eyes at the creature, which returned with an unblinking stare that he could swear was drilling right into his heart. Had it caught to his plans? No, impossible. It didn't have nearly enough context. But it probably was suspicious, and he couldn't fault it for that. Unlike the other inhabitants of the sleeping city, he didn't belong here. It was only natural that the Nightmare would come to suspect his motives, why he had been so eager to aid it.

It didn't have the context necessary, and it never would. He didn't answer its question, because he knew how the Nightmare thought. They'd just get into a merry-go-round of questions without any answers between the two, and it could last for hours—well, what felt like hours anyway. This dream had no concept of time.

His ignoring of the Nightmare's question went unnoticed as light splashing footsteps through shallow water announced a third person entering the waterway. The nameless girl appeared, her face just as obscured by the black coat as his own. The Nightmare peered up at her with its red eyes, and she in turn crouched down. She pat it on the head without a word, then scooped it up in her arms and held it close to her chest like a little girl would a doll.

He watched the scene with complete apathy and just as much silence as his fellow black coat. He glanced from the Nightmare to her, and though he couldn't see the nameless girl's face he could tell that they had locked gazes with each other. After a moment she turned away, giving him the briefest glimpse of her silver hair before she began to walk back outside. As they were about to vanish from sight, he let out a mental sigh. And then, as he watched them leave, a thought occurred. A thought, and a growing necessity to know why Lea had appeared.

"Wait." She came to a stop at his voice, though he was speaking not to her but the Nightmare. "There's your reason right there. I have reunited you with the one you missed most of all. You know why I am here. So I ask you again, why had he come here?"

The girl turned around, allowing those red eyes to stare wide at him once again. "His heart resonated with the dream. His own subconscious thoughts and wants dragged him here." There was a pang of nervousness in its voice, which the girl seemed to catch on to as she hugged it tighter to her chest in a comforting manner.

He pursed his lips beneath his hood. Then indeed, his fears had come true. He had heard of such things happening before, though never seen it himself. And if Lea's heart was able to reach out into the darkness of this sleeping world, who else would be able to? Who else could tear down the foundations of what they had built together and ruin everything? He would have to strengthen the Nightmare's resolve, increase the nightmare's defenses. He slowly reached up and lowered his hood, allowing them to take in his appearance as he brushed silver hair so much like that of the nameless girl's out of his face.

"Don't worry. No one is going to take her from you, Chirithy."

 **x-x-x**

"Every time I come here it somehow looks even more dreary than before."

Cissnei and Lea stood before the crooked towering spires of Castle Oblivion, the world that sat beneath an eternally grey sky. The Star Shard had only just brought them, and Cissnei seemed a bit on the dizzy side. Lea gave her a minute to gain her bearings while he took it all in.

She was up and ready quicker than he expected. "So this is really it, the famous Castle Oblivion? From all the talk, it's not what I was expecting."

Lea smirked ever so slightly. "I said the same thing my first time here."

"How many times has it been now?"

Lea scratched his head in thought as the two of them made their way up to the entrance. "Three or four, I think?"

Cissnei returned the smirk. "What, you didn't keep track?"

"It all kind of blends together. This place messes with your head." Lea rested a hand on the heavy doors, running his fingers across the familiar sight. He had hoped after the last time that he would never have to come back here, but it seemed like his fate was tied to this world more than he'd have preferred. Fate sure had a sick sense of humor.

"I heard Aqua fixed that."

Lea snorted. "She may have fixed the part where the castle intentionally and maliciously tried to get visitors trapped in an endless maze, but I get the feeling that it still isn't just a harmless architectural impossibility."

Cissnei nodded. "Well, you're the expert. Lead the way then."

Lea tilted his nose up. Yeah, he probably was the expert on this place—was that something to be proud of? Pressing his other hand against the door as well, he pushed with all his might to get the heavy barrier open. It creaked and groaned as they emerged into the white entrance hall.

Like the outside, the inside of Castle Oblivion seemed somehow more dreary. Certainly the contrast from grey sky to spotless white walls didn't feel as blinding for some reason or another, even though the colors themselves hadn't dimmed. It was as if now that it no longer had to safeguard Ven the magic that had been sustaining Castle Oblivion in perpetuity was beginning to waste away.

Cissnei looked around at their surroundings with interest, unaware of the differences from before. She ran her hand along the white walls, lingered on the ceramic flowers, and examined the pattern on the ceiling. Eventually, her eyes turned to the pale golden pair of doors sitting elevated at the far end of the entrance hall. "That's the only way forward?"

"Yeah." Lea moved up the staircase and stood in front of the doorway, but didn't open it just quite yet. He was almost scared to find out what awaited them on the other side, and what he wouldn't give to have Aqua and her Keyblade with them right now. His hand lingered on the handle, fingers wrapped only loosely around it.

"Where are we headed anyway?"

"The basement. That's where Vexen's lab was. What better place to find what he knew?" As Lea spoke he opened the golden doors, and he found with some surprised that on the other side was not a memory room, but a staircase moving downward. His brow furrowed and he looked back over his shoulder at the room behind him.

"Is there a problem?" Cissnei asked. She moved up the steps beside him and peered through the doorway at the staircase that descended into darkness.

"No. None at all." It looked like Castle Oblivion still had a bit of mutability left over. Hopefully no problems would arise from that. Time to see just how much of it remained.

They began their descent in silence, their footsteps echoing around them as the lighting shifted. White walls became blue as they entered the first of the castle's thirteen basements and continued climbing ever lower. No, surely they had to be past the first by now. But how deep were they? The end of the staircase was nowhere in sight, leaving Lea to wonder if perhaps this was all a trick of the castle and they hadn't actually descended at all. Another glance over his shoulder assuaged those fears though; the light of the door they had come through was far off in the distance. So they'd continue to descend.

But the silence seemed to have gotten to Cissnei. She crossed her arms as they moved down the darkness, then shrugged her shoulders, then looked over to Lea. "So, tell me about yourself."

"What, now?"

"Yes now." Cissnei unfolded her arms for a moment and waved her hand in front of them. "Got to have something to break this up."

Lea let out a breath. Talking about and thinking about the past was a bad idea in Castle Oblivion, but if nothing had happened so far then maybe they were in the clear. Maybe he'd underestimated just how much Aqua had done with her key. "Not much to tell, really. As a kid, I got into a lot of trouble with Isa. As an adult, I got into a lot of trouble under Saïx."

"Family life?"

…Huh. Not something he'd thought of in a long, long time. Lea rubbed his neck. "Pretty standard I guess. Both folks worked: Dad was a firefighter, ironically enough. Mom was a…" He trailed off, his mind empty. "…I can't remember. Isn't that pathetic?"

"More than I remember of mine," Cissnei admitted softly.

"You about to tell me you were homeless or something?" He wasn't insulting about it, but he half expected it given how messed up a lot of the childhoods of people he knew had been.

But Cissnei shook her head. "No, but Turks training starts from a young age. I knew them but barely."

"Turks training, huh…"

She nodded. "Daily routine was waking up just before dawn and training in hand-to-hand, firearms, and espionage until just before sunset."

"Sounds pretty harsh. Any downtime besides eating?"

"Well of course. It was intense training but they weren't slave drivers." Cissnei had an almost nostalgic smile on her face despite the day-long description she had just given. "There was actually a bit of a lax environment despite everything. Our boss was the strict-but-friendly sort, kind of like Ansem the Wise, and he let us get away with a lot. Even using the Bastion funds for vacations."

"Oh really? There's your tax munny at work."

Out of nowhere, Cissnei burst into laughter. Lea stared at her like she had grown a second head. Was it something she said? Eventually she wiped at her eyes and held a hand up to prematurely silence Lea's questions while she caught her breath. "Sorry, sorry. You just reminded me of a conversation we had once, a long time ago. Another Turk said pretty much the exact same thing."

"Sounds kind of grown-up for a little girl to be talking about," Lea noted.

"Pardon?"

Lea frowned. What, was he wrong about her age? Then it clicked. "Oh, that's right. You were already an adult when Radiant Garden fell. Hey, could've fooled me."

Cissnei placed her hands on her hips and tilted her nose up with a smile. "I look good for my age."

"The Realm of Darkness does wonders for one's complexion."

"Lea!"

"Fine, fine. I'll leave you—Oh." There was a door in front of them, one that had seemingly jumped out from nowhere. It had not been visible just moments before, but was now their only way forward.

"A trick of the castle?" Cissnei asked.

"More of its unpredictability at the least. Could be Vexen's lab on the other side, or could be some other part of the basements entirely. No way to know until we're through. But here's hoping…" He gripped the doorknob, turned, and pushed. The dark stairwell was filled with a blinding light that enveloped the two of them, there was a feeling of disorientation, and then the next thing they knew they stood in—an office break room?

A ceiling fan spun slowly above them. Two couches faced a TV which had the volume set so low that it was nearly mute. On one of them, a man in a black suit snored loudly. Another group of people sat around a table playing poker. All of them wore suits as well, though not all of them were exactly well-kept. One man had scrapped the jacket entirely, wearing his white undershirt with the tie untied and hanging around his neck.

Lea scratched his head. "Huh. Guess the castle must've reacted to us reminiscing." It wasn't anywhere he recognized though, so… Lea's gaze flicked over to Cissnei, who stood beside him with an unreadable expression.

The TV suddenly shut off, prompting the sleeping man on the couch to wake up with tired shouts of "I was watching that, Tseng!"

In came another suited man, with black hair slicked back and tied into a ponytail. "Not anymore you're not. We've got orders. Some sort of 'anomaly' has been sighted in town and we need to figure out what exactly it is."

"Isn't that a job for the guards?" a blonde woman asked.

"Normally it would be, Elena. But the nature of this mission means Professor Even has assigned it to the Turks. This may turn out to be more than the guards can handle."

The man on the couch sat up and ran a hand through his bright red hair. "These orders come from that creep show?"

Tseng smiled slightly. "Just for that, Reno, you're on the team. I'll also be taking Cissnei." His line of sight turned to the far corner, where a mirror duplicate of the woman standing at Lea's side had just entered from another door. The past Cissnei stood straight as she heard her name called out, prompting a sigh from the one called Reno.

"There's no need to be so stiff, Cissnei. This is just a recon mission."

But Tseng seemed to disagree. "Actually, I expect full cooperation and—more importantly—safety on this mission. Not only do we not know what we're dealing with, but we're going into dangerous territory."

Beside Lea, the Cissnei of the present sucked in a breath through her teeth. The past Cissnei quirked an eyebrow. "Why? Where is it?"

"The slums."

Tseng's words sent an involuntary shudder through Lea. _The slums_. He didn't need to specify, Radiant Garden only had one set of slums and it had them for a reason: geostigma. The disease had caused that district to be all but abandoned by both the people and even the government, with Ansem the Wise completely unaware of their suffering, because it was just that deadly and contagious.

At Lea's side, Cissnei looked suddenly very uneasy. "Hey, you okay?"

"We need to move."

"What? Why, do you remember what this mission was? What happened?" Around them, the break room began to ripple. The memory was shifting, to when and where Lea wasn't sure. He caught sight of what seemed to be a rundown church before Cissnei caught his attention.

" _Now_ , Lea!" She grabbed Lea by the wrist and hurried over to a new door that had appeared in front of them. Lea barely recognized her, her composure had completely fallen and she seemed absolutely sick to her stomach. Whatever this memory was, it was one she didn't want to relive. And honestly, he could respect that.

As light filled their vision once again and the door shut behind them, Lea and Cissnei found themselves in a small room that was unmistakably natively Castle Oblivion and not an illusion. The cold white walls could attest to that, let alone the Nobody sigil emblazoned on the bookcases.

And there were a _lot_ of bookcases, with even more books. Books with covers every color of the rainbow, both sitting within the cases and scattered across the room whether it be on the floor or on the nearby desk. The desk sat before a window that opened up to the grey sky, reaffirming that, indeed, this was really Castle Oblivion. Lea moved over to the desk and picked up the first book he could get his hands on. A name caught his eye on the inner cover: _Vexen_.

This was it, Vexen's home away from home deep in the basements of Castle Oblivion. Some books were scattered on the ground, just as they had been when Lea had last been here and found notes on Naminé. Now he had to hope his luck would pull through again and he'd find what he was looking for a second time.

Lea looked back at Cissnei, whose eyes lingered on the door they had come through with an uneasy look still on her face. Lea cleared his throat and then picked up another journal. "Hope you like digging through journals, Cissnei. Fun times."

Cissnei's attention turned to him. "Y-Yeah. Feels like that's all I do these days."

"That's right, we got a journal-diving expert over here. Teach me your ways."

Cissnei finally cracked a smile, which relieved Lea. "Well, I'll try. Let's see if we can get it through that thick head of yours, though."

"Hey, watch it!" Lea sat down in Vexen's chair and began flipping through the first of many journals. "Look for any names you don't recognize. Vexen was all about notes; if he ever met my missing friend, she's in here somewhere. And while we're at it, anything on Replicas to help against Garland."

"Yes sir."

Cissnei got right into it, digging through Vexen's journals like a professional. Lea'd been joking around but evident she wasn't kidding, she must have been doing nothing but that for a while now. On the other hand, Lea found that in the time it took him to dig through one of the many books Cissnei had gone through two. She had it down to an art form. And while Lea's dedication never wavered, his mind did wander a bit. Perhaps due to Castle Oblivion's nature? Whether that or not, he soon found his thoughts turning to the Riku Replica.

That poor kid was something else. He had come to form a sense of self all on his own, separate from the false memories of Riku, something that Axel thought was impossible from what he knew of the Replica Program. But then, the Replica Program had surprised him before. The Riku Replica's ability to absorb power from others like it did Zexion? He had no idea Vexen's creations were capable of something like that. It made him wonder just how far the project could have gone if the Organization had followed through with it. In fact, why had they stopped again?

Lea had some vague memories of a meeting in the Round Room one day, where Saïx had confronted him about the impossibility of Replicas gaining sentience. He'd not responded. That sense of self… Lea felt a twinge of pain in his heart. He was wrong to use the Riku Replica as a tool the way he did. How is a man-made puppet any less worthy than a Nobody that was never meant to exist at all?

Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, or perhaps this train of thought was somehow affecting the book he had chosen to read, but as Lea flipped to the next page his eyes caught on something interesting.

 **Research Entry 326  
** _The Program is largely on target. No. i, my finest Replica, has proven an even greater success than anticipated. I intend to take the other vessel—judged unfit for number status—to Castle Oblivion, where I will subject it to further testing. One thing is clear: could these Replicas not be classified as a special sort of Nobody?_

"No. _i_ …" Lea repeated to himself. This was unfamiliar to him. There was another Replica besides Riku's? Why had he never seen this one before?

"You find something?"

"About the Replicas, yeah, but it won't help with Garland."

"Let me see." Cissnei placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down, looking at the journal from behind him. Her eyes narrowed at the entry that Lea pointed out to her. "You've never seen this?"

"Never. I never met this no. _i_ —never met any Replicas besides Riku's. I didn't think that Vexen had even made complete ones besides that." But even as the words passed his lips, Lea faltered. He knew it to be true, but still felt like what he had said was a lie. With a grimace on his face, Lea turned his full attention to the book, scanning through Vexen's stupidly neat handwriting with unprecedented speed. There were comments here and there about Roxas, giving Lea a timeframe for all of this. Roxas had only just joined the Organization at the time this was all written.

As he continued to scan through the journal, a sense of unease was working its way into Lea's gut. Any rational man would realize the Riku Replica wasn't unique, but to know that there had been another completed one… It could be just as dangerous and prone to violence as Riku's was—not that part of that behavior wasn't Lea's own fault. But still. If this Replica still existed, then they had to—

Lea's blood froze solid.

Vexen's journal dropped from his lap. With shaking hands, Lea lifted it back up. No, no. No! This was impossible, this _didn't make sense_. The entry he was staring at was an absolute possibility. It couldn't be here, someone had to have added it after Vexen's death. _I'd have known if it had been in the castle._

Cissnei looked over to Lea, concern on her face. "What is it?"

Lea took in a breath. "It… It says that no. _i_ was brought to the World That Never Was. Was given a coat, a name…was put into Organization XIII as its fourteenth member." Lea flipped the page and ran his eyes along the next few days' worth of writing. After some studies on Naminé from when the Organization had first found her, all of it—from here to the end of the book—was about No. _i_ : its behavior, its interactions with Roxas, and even its interactions with _himself_.

"'The Replica shows interest in the Keybearer's Nobody, inasmuch as a Replica _can_ show interest,'" Lea read. "'The boy is still only barely more self-sufficient than a Dusk and follows Axel around everywhere. For his part Axel humors the Replica, speaking to it as one would a small child and pushing Roxas into conversation with it." Lea looked up at Cissnei with wide eyes, his hands trembling. "Cissnei, I don't remember _any_ of this."

Cissnei slowly put down the book she had been searching through. "Like you don't remember the friend we're looking for?"

It all clicked into place. Lea dropped Vexen's journal to the floor and laughed softly as he leaned back in the chair with his hand rubbing his eyes. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. "That's it. That's the goddamn answer, isn't it?"

Cissnei moved a step closer to him. "Isn't this a good thing? You got what you were looking for. You were right, Vexen had notes on your missing friend."

Lea shook his head without looking at her. He stared at the ceiling above him. "That's just it, Cissnei, we didn't. My missing friend—as far as Vexen's concerned, she's a tool. These notes don't have anything about _who_ she was! How am I supposed to know what her favorite food was? Favorite genre of music? Did she get along with Roxas? What did she dream of doing when we got our hearts back?" He fought back tears. He was _not_ going to cry at this, not like this. "And what was her name? I don't even have her goddamn _name_ because Vexen was an emotionless bastard! We don't have anything!"

"Lea, calm down." Cissnei grabbed his shoulders from behind. "Deep breaths, okay? We're not done here. We're not. This castle was never going to be our final stop. You and I on an adventure to find your friend, remember? You're going to remember her, we're going to find her wherever she is, and then we're all going home together."

Lea let out a shaking breath. "…Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"It'll be hard to remember I'm sure, but you're not going at it alone. Alright?"

He smiled and, tentatively, placed his hand over hers. "Thanks, Cissnei." Then in a flash Lea was back to his old self. "Don't suppose you have any experience like this to give me any pointers, though?"

Cissnei shook her head. "I'd say I'm more interested in forgetting things. But maybe they're two sides of the same coin, huh?"

"Right." Lea stood up and dug into his pocket for the Star Shard. "Well, we have more of a lead now than we did when we arrived, at least. I know she was in the Organization, and I know she was part of the Replica Program. That's a start."

"It is. Where to now?"

"Now?" Lea bounced the Star Shard up and down in his palm once. "That world Sora told us about, I suppose. We'll look for this Josh guy and see what he knows about bringing people back."

Cissnei extended her hand out over the Star Shard in Lea's open palm. "And if that doesn't work?"

Lea grinned at her. "Then there's a whole wide universe out there for us to search. We can't let Keybearers have all the fun."

With both of them holding onto it tightly, the Star Shard flared to life. Bright blue light enveloped Lea and Cissnei, brightening Vexen's study for a split second before it shout out the window like a comet and flew into space in a zig-zagging pattern. As they made way for parts unknown, one thought was on Lea's mind.

 _We're coming._


	10. See You in Shibuya

**Chapter 10: See You in Shibuya**

 _Same streets. Same crowds, too._

The stoplight changed from red to green, and the crossing was in a flurry of activity. Hundreds walked across the intersection, each one in their own little world. Advertisements played on gigantic screens up above, only adding to the flood of noise coming from each and every one of the conversations, whether it be on the phone or in person. Speaking of phones, some people moved without ever watching where they were going, furiously typing away on their handsets whether for professional or personal reasons. It was all a gigantic mess, a cacophony of a thousand different voices, each world confined to one person but melding into something larger.

 _Yeah. Shibuya hasn't changed a bit._

" _Brain wave, main wave  
_ " _Psycho got a high kick  
_ " _Collect and select  
_ " _Show me your best set  
_ " _Crystals, blisters  
_ " _It's all over now  
_ " _Psycho cane  
_ " _You're so keen  
_ " _I need more candy canes"_

Among the crowds, just one more unforgettable face in the sea, was a young man with orange hair dressed in purple and white. Music blared in his headphones, but where once upon a time Neku Sakuraba would have shut the world out, kept to his values and let others keep to theirs, he moved with his head held high and taking in the sight of each and every stranger who passed him by. The song just happened to be a favorite of his, was all.

 _But still, I don't think I can forgive you yet._

But that wasn't to say he was all fun and games. No, he still had some pretty heavy thoughts weighing on his mind.

" _Cold cake, cold break  
_ " _Freak got a high kick  
_ " _Mr. Twister  
_ " _Moist with roistering  
_ " _Stick it up  
_ " _Take it up  
_ " _Step aside and see the world  
_ " _Effect has defects  
_ " _Take a bow to the moon (Bow-wow to the moon)"_

Neku came to a stop in the middle of the Scramble Crossing and looked up at the 104 building towering above the sea of people. Whatever was playing didn't really register to him, but he watched it all the same.

 _You don't see it, but...those few weeks were very hard for me. Learning to trust people; having that trust broken. Finding out the town I pegged as small, and stifling, and empty...wasn't any of those things._

He turned away and turned the volume up a bit as he continued crossing the street. Music helped him think.

 _I'm glad I met you guys. You made me...pick up on things I probably would've just gone on ignoring. 'Trust your partner'... And I do. I can't forgive you, but I trust you. You took care of things, right? Otherwise, Shibuya would be gone and my world with it._

" _Morning rays, Hairspray Queens  
_ " _Get on their way to their nests, the west  
_ " _Honest, they once had a dream  
_ " _Belles of society, in the shells of their unity  
_ " _Cornet'n spinet  
_ " _The sound flows, follows till they're home  
_ " _Dragged by the power of dreams  
_ " _That power is yet unknown"_

As Neku stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side, his head was slightly but suddenly jerked back as his headphones were pulled away from him. Turning around with irritation, Neku found the thief holding onto the wireless headset with a teasing grin on his face. Neku sighed and held his hand out. "Give 'em back, Beat."

Beat grabbed Neku in a headlock, one that the thinner boy struggled to get out of but was all in good fun. "C'mon, Phones! You had that song set so loud the whole crossing could hear it!"

Neku looked around at the crowds, not a single one of them paying attention. To them it was just another weird sight that gave Shibuya so much of its charm, it'd frankly be stranger if they did catch attention. Beside the two boys, a smaller voice spoke up. "Beat, you could've just asked Neku to turn it down a bit."

"He couldn't hear me anyways Rhyme, I been tryin' to talk to him for the last five minutes!"

With Beat distracted, Neku slipped out of his hold and snagged his headphones back. He opted to hang them around his neck and flicked off the MP3 player in his pocket in one motion. "Well you got my attention now Beat, what's the deal?"

"Oh, uh, just that!" Beat laughed and rubbed the back of his beanie-clad head. Beside him his little sister, Rhyme, let out a soft sigh.

Neku rolled his eyes, but he didn't turn the music back on. His exasperation turned into a smile as he shook his head, laughing at the whole situation. Beat punched him in the shoulder. "Yo, don'tchu laugh at me!"

Neku matched Beat's grin from earlier. "You just make it too easy."

"Hey, watch it!" Beat grabbed Neku and put him in a headlock once again. Laughter filled the air around them, and even if it was drowned out by the chatter, it was their world right now.

After Neku struggled some more, the fourth member of their group – a girl with short brown hair, a green sweater, and a black stuffed cat hanging from her bag – finally intervened. "Beat lighten up a bit, you'll hurt him."

Beat released his grip immediately. "Aw, you're right. Yo, sometimes I forget how scrawny Phones is!"

Neku took a few breaths before speaking, but he kept his grin on his face the whole time. "Hey, I'm not _that_ scrawny."

Beat burst out laughing. "Oh yes you are, man! I betchu even Shiki could beat you in a fight!"

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Hey! What do you mean ' _even_ ' Shiki, huh?"

"Bwaaah!" Beat jumped back when Shiki took a step forward, looking at him with narrowed eyes through her glasses.

Rhyme couldn't help but giggle at her brother's reaction. "I think Shiki could beat any of us in a fight, honestly."

Neku and Rhyme started to laugh again and Beat turned his attention on them. "Yo, that's not fair! You know I don't hit girls!"

"Such a gentleman," Shiki said while hiding a smile of her own. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind holding my bag for me either, would you Beat?" She didn't give him a chance to respond, dropping it into his hands, stuffed cat and all. "Easy on Mr. Mew, okay?"

"Wha—?!" But Shiki had already gone ahead, Neku walking beside her. Rhyme gently patted Beat on the back before following after them, leaving him dumbfounded and staring after his three friends for several long moments before he finally started running through the crowds to catch up with them.

Neku looked over to Shiki, who was typing away on her phone. He lingered on her for only a second, then looked ahead as he spoke. "That was pretty gutsy of you."

Shiki glanced up at Neku then over her shoulder at Beat. "I couldn't resist. Should I take it back from him?"

Neku waved a hand. "Nah. He's not complaining, right? Besides, I didn't say gutsy was bad."

Shiki's face turned a shade pinker and she looked back down at her phone. "I think I still have a bit of Eri in me."

Neku nodded. "After all we went through—not just in the Game, but with those Heartless and Nobodies and everything in Traverse Town—we're bound to be different. I don't think it's a bad thing though." Shiki looked up at him at that. "Wasn't that the point of it all?"

"Guess so! And you know Neku, you changed too."

Neku averted his gaze and rubbed his neck. "…You think?"

"Yeah. You're less dorky."

"Hey!"

While Shiki giggled once again, Beat ran up to catch up with the two of them. "So, where we headed anyway?"

Shiki came to a stop and pointed up, right up, at the roof of the building they were stopped in front of. "I thought we'd all spend lunch up there today. That's kind of a change of pace, isn't it? It'll be fun!"

Beat rubbed his head. "What, way up there? Why?"

But Rhyme disagreed with her big brother. "It sounds like a great idea, Shiki."

"Right? Come on, the way up is over here!"

 **x-x-x**

The stoplight changed from red to green, and the crossing was in a flurry of activity. Hundreds walked across the intersection, each one in their own little world. Advertisements played on gigantic screens up above, only adding to the flood of noise coming from each and every one of the conversations, whether it be on the phone or in person.

Standing in the middle of the Scramble Crossing, still in a bit of a daze from the star shard depositing them there, was Lea. But that wasn't the main reason he was still as a statue. On the contrary, Lea was utterly bewildered by just _how many people_ were here. It was insane! It was like a solid wall of people, everywhere he looked. Even in Radiant Garden at its height, even in Traverse Town when the Heartless were at their worst, he had never seen such a gigantic crowd before.

"This is gonna be worse than finding a needle in a haystack," Lea commented as he continued to stand in the middle of the crossing, watching everyone go by. They moved past while caught up in their own little worlds, as if he and Cissnei weren't even there. "Where do we even begin to look for this Joshua guy?"

Cissnei rubbed her head, pushing away the last of the star shard's effects. "Well, just standing around here won't do. Come on, we'll go pick up information."

"Any idea where? I mean, not that there's exactly a lack of people, but no one really cares we're here. It's not like we can just press a button and read their minds."

Cissnei looked around with an expression somewhere between intrigue and concern. Behind her face Lea could almost see the gears in her mind turning as she took it all in. "Sheer numbers aside, it seems like an ordinary city. Which means there's got to be somewhere people congregate—and I don't mean just to walk around. Bars, restaurants. Things like that."

"Pick up rumors at a tavern, huh? You been playing some of Yuffie's video games?"

"Hey, clichés exist for a reason. This works, trust a Turk on this one."

Lea shrugged and then waved his arm forward, into the sea of people. "Lead the way, then. Let's find our metaphorical tavern." Someone bumped into him, causing Lea to stumble. When he regained his balance he shot a glare at the back of the salaryman's head then turned to Cissnei. "Though keep an eye out for me, alright? Seems like it'd be pretty easy to get separated."

Cissnei shot him a smirk. "It won't be easy to lose you with that hairdo, don't worry."

Lea ran a hand through his red spikes. "I'm proud of it, and it comes in handy. Two for two."

The two of them made their way out of the middle of the crossing and onto the sidewalks, which while slightly less crowded was still a mess far bigger than one either of them were used to. As opposed to the chaos in the crossing the flow of this crowd moved one way, one that Cissnei and Lea found themselves forced into like a raft drifting downriver, directing them toward a bus terminal. The crowds lightened up as they approached an area that could almost but not quite be called a small park, with a statue of a dog standing in front of a train station. A few people lingered around the statue, looking around as if waiting for others.

"See anything?" Cissnei asked.

Lea looked around at the various fast food establishments in this urban sprawl. "No dark, medieval taverns to hear rumors over a mug of ale, I'm afraid. There's a burger shop though."

"Better than nothing."

"What, you serious?"

Cissnei was already moving ahead of him into the shop labeled 'Sunshine Stationside'. Seemed like a pretty typical fast food on the inside, with high school age kids working behind the counter and people sitting at the circular tables around them. Cissnei walked up to the counter and tapped a finger against her lips while she looked over the menu.

"Welcome to Sunshine!" exclaimed a girl with a forced smile. "What'll it be?"

Lea jumped right to the point. "Don't suppose you know anyone named Joshua around here?"

The girl gave him an odd look but spoke with an over-the-top cheerfulness. "Joshua is a pretty strange name around here, I haven't. Can I interest you in our spicy bacon burger?"

Lea rolled his eyes. They weren't going to get anywhere with some teenagers working minimum wage. But Cissnei kept going as if she was actually interested in ordering from this place. "You know what, I'll get a small chocolate shake."

Lea shot her a look – why was she actually ordering? – but Cissnei returned it with a small, enigmatic smile. While the girl took her order and Cissnei paid, Lea, with nothing else to do, looked around at their surroundings and wandered the window. He stared out at the crowds, watching them go by, until Cissnei walked up to him sipping her shake.

"It's not half bad, actually."

"If you were hungry you could have just told me, instead of going through all this. Are you taking this seriously?"

"Of course I am, Lea. You have to be subtle about these things." Cissnei shook her head and motioned back to the girl at the counter. "Of course she wasn't going to know this Joshua guy in a city this big, but we got information out of her nonetheless. Didn't you hear what she told you, without telling you?"

Lea raised an eyebrow. What?

Cissnei lowered her voice to a whisper. "She said that Joshua is a weird name around here. That means we're looking for someone most likely _not_ from around here. Which means he's going to stand out in a crowd."

That was… Lea chuckled and ran a hand over his forehead. "Okay, I have to hand it to you, that's pretty clever. But there's no way you could have known that girl would give us any sort of hint."

Cissnei shrugged. "I took my chances. I also wanted a shake though."

Lea frowned and looked back to the crowds. It was a pretty big mass, everyone sort of blended together, but… He gasped, catching Cissnei's attention. "What is it?"

"Oh someone in there _definitely_ stands out. It's not Joshua though, I can promise you that. Come on!"

Lea hurried out the door without paying attention to the employees asking them to come again. He wasn't running, but he moved quick and with purpose toward the statue of the dog. Through the ever-shifting wall of bodies, amidst the chattering hustle and bustle, he would occasionally catch a glimpse of blue. If he focused hard enough, he could just make out a familiar voice.

"…please, do you know…"

"Excuse me, but…"

"…sorry, I'm just trying…"

There she was, in front of the dog, haling down anyone who passed her by. People were ignoring or otherwise unable to help her. Lea wasn't sure he'd be able to either, but her merely being here was something completely unexpected. "Aqua!"

The Keyblade Master turned around to see Lea approaching her, and her eyes flickered behind him to Cissnei catching up. "Lea! Cissnei! What are you two doing here?"

Lea slowed down as he reached Aqua in the center of the madness. "I could ask you the same thing. Sora told us to stop by this world and ask for someone named Joshua, said he might be able to help with my missing friend."

Aqua's face brightened. "You too? Sora suggested this Joshua person to me as well, to help try and get Terra back."

Cissnei smiled. "So we're on the same mission, huh?"

"Looks like," Lea agreed. "Makes things easier for sure."

Aqua's shoulders slumped. "Well, it would if anyone here would give me the time of day. If someone isn't passing me by and ignoring my question, they don't know who this guy is."

Lea crossed his arms. "We're not doing much better. All we got is he might maybe possibly be a foreigner so stand out in a crowd."

"Yeesh… But three heads are better than one," Aqua continued. "You two willing to help me out?"

"Don't even need to ask, Aqua. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't? Even if we weren't looking for the same person." Cissnei said.

"Yeah, what she said. Though I don't know where to even begin to look…" A grimace crossed Lea's features as he looked around. "Maybe we need a higher point of view, somewhere to get a better look down on the crowds to find someone standing out."

Aqua waved her hand in an arc around them. "Take your pick, there's plenty of tall buildings here."

"More back at the crossing than near this station, though. What's a train station without a clock tower, I ask you?" The joke was left without laughter from the two women, the reference going right over their heads. Lea sighed. "Anyway, yeah, let's go back a bit and find a way up around there."

Aqua stepped aside, allowing Lea to pass. "Lead the way."

Back into the chaos again. Navigating the crowds was hard enough with two people, but three people trying to stick together while dodging and weaving past people who pretended like they didn't exist was even more difficult. Not to mention doing that while trying to uphold a conversation, since Lea wasn't quite comfortable yet with coincidentally running into Aqua here.

"Don't suppose you came here to keep an eye on us?" Lea asked Aqua from the other side of a pair of chatty teenagers.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you know. Ven's told me you go after him when he goes off-world."

Lea just barely saw Aqua frown before an older couple passed between the two of them. "Well I'm not going to deny that, but after everything that's happened I'm just looking out for him, and I hope he knows that. But no, I didn't come looking for you two—though I'm glad I ran into you. You both just vanished last night."

"Sora didn't say where we went?"

"No, he did, but you both left without warning. What did you find at the La— …At Castle Oblivion?"

Lea let out a sigh. For a moment he caught Cissnei giving him a worried glance, and before he was able to speak up she was already replying to Aqua. "I don't suppose the term 'Replica' means anything to you? I mean, as a proper noun?" At Aqua's headshake, Cissnei continued. "They were a project of Organization XIII's Vexen to create artificial—"

"Don't use that word," Lea snapped. The two women stared at him for a moment before Cissnei continued.

"… _Experimental_ humans. Like Maleficent's ally Garland—in fact I'm pretty sure Garland served as the inspiration for Vexen's project."

"But what does this have to do with Castle Oblivion?" Aqua asked. They had crossed over to the other side of the street and were now standing against the wall of a tall office building, standing under the shade of an overhanging balcony.

"What we found in Vexen's notes on the castle was that one of the Replicas—one called no. _i_ —was a part of Organization XIII. Thing is, Lea doesn't remember any of this."

A grimace painted Lea's features as he looked aside. "It wasn't hard to put two and two together." Aqua opened her mouth, but Lea didn't want to talk about this anymore. He was still angry they hadn't gotten a name out of that visit. "Anyway, if you came to get help with Terra is Ven with you?"

Aqua closed her mouth. She peered at Lea, trying to read him, before seeming to give up and going along with the change in topic. To Lea's surprise, Aqua shook her head. "I left him in Radiant Garden actually, though I'm sure he probably ran off to find Terra himself as soon as I was out of sight."

"Aren't you worried about that?"

Aqua shrugged. "Well yes, but while I've pulled him back to Radiant Garden before I know I can't keep him from doing what he wants. Ven's not a little kid and he's proven he can handle himself. Doesn't mean I'm not worried, of course, but I can't be too overprotective. Doing that is what led to him running off in the first place years ago."

Aqua seemed to turn inward, thinking something to herself. Lea let her do that while he examined the buildings around them, trying to find a good location to scout out the crowds. Cissnei beat him to the punch, calling Lea and Aqua around the corner into an alley where a fire escape made its way up the side of the building they had been gathered under.

"Do you think anyone will mind?" Aqua asked.

Lea moved toward the first step. "No one will know."

The stairs were a little shaky going up, but they held. The building was kind of stupidly tall, though, taller than Lea had thought from the bottom. Halfway up the climb he was already starting to feel out of breath, and he could almost feel Cissnei and Aqua burning their eyes into his back as he started to slow down. By the time they reached the roof Lea leaned over the edge of the building, resting his arms on the railing, and paid more attention to catching his breath than scanning for any standouts in the crowd. Maybe if he had been more aware of his surroundings he wouldn't have been shocked by the voice coming from behind him.

"HEY! Who let you up here, yo?!"

The gruff accusation made Lea jump slightly, and he turned around to find that he, Aqua, and Cissnei had intruded upon a group of teenagers who had also come up to the roof of this building. There were a few boxes of food laid out. What the heck, were they just eating lunch up here?

The one yelling at them was a guy in a beanie who looked like he was probably the oldest of the group. He was standing up and pointing a finger at Lea, but his own friends seemed just as confused as Lea was. A girl in an orange shirt, sitting beside him, reached a hand up and grabbed his wrist. "Beat, calm down. It's not like we own this rooftop, you know."

Beat muttered something under his breath and sat down with crossed arms. Beside Lea, Aqua spoke up. "We're sorry if we're intruding on something. We came up here to get a better view of the Scramble Crossing but if you'd like us to leave we can."

The other girl, a brunette, shook her head. "No, that's fine, really! We were just sitting up here people watching. Truth is it's kind of a hobby we all picked up once."

Lea shook his head. "Well it's not a hobby but we're here for pretty much the same reason. We're trying to find someone in that mess," he jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder, "and a vantage point would make that easier."

The first girl, the one in the orange shirt, stood up. "Well, maybe we can help! I'm Rhyme, this is my brother Beat, and Shiki and Neku." After pointing out who was who, Rhyme smiled. "What's this person look like?"

"We don't know," Cissnei answered.

Shiki tilted her head. "So it's someone you haven't met?"

"Right. All we know is that he probably stands out, since his name apparently isn't too common around here."

By now, Beat had warmed up to them. "Well, what is his name, yo?"

"Joshua," Lea said.

Quiet descended on their new friends. Rhyme, Beat, Shiki, and Neku all looked at each other, some sort of silent conversation occurring between them all. Finally, Neku stood up from his spot and locked eyes with Cissnei, Aqua, and Lea in order. "Why are you all looking for Joshua?"

Lea jumped up from his leaning on the rail. "Wait, you know him?"

"He's our friend." There was a sort of edge in Neku's voice that didn't go unnoticed by Lea and the others. It wasn't directed at this Josh guy though. No, he didn't trust their intentions. Understandable, if he really was Joshua's friend.

Lea took a step forward. "A friend directed us to him, too. Said he could help us out. I don't suppose you know anyone named Sora?" Even with Neku's face partially hidden behind the collar of his shirt, there was no mistaking the way the kid's eyes bugged out. That was a familiar name to Neku. "We're looking for someone—well, two someones. Sora told us that Joshua is good at bringing people back, so we came here looking for him."

"Sora did?" Shiki asked.

Neku lifted his head, and Lea was surprised to see a smile on his face. This kid didn't seem the type. "Then if Sora sent you, there's no reason not to trust you."

"How do you know Sora?" Aqua asked.

"He came here before, helped us with a problem with those Organization XIII guys, him and…" Neku trailed off. A look of confusion crossed over his face, he grasped the side of his head for a moment, then turned to look at his friends. "Guys, who was Sora's partner?"

"Partner?"

"You mean Donald and Goofy?"

Aqua and Cissnei's own questions just seemed to confuse Neku more. Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme were obviously trying to recall the answer to his question, too. "He wasn't with anyone named that…" Shiki murmured.

Lea had a sinking feeling in his gut. "You sure he didn't come here on his own then?"

"Yo, absolutely not." Beat shook his head adamantly. "He wouldn'ta been able to do nothin' if he was here on his own. He musta had a partner but… I don't remember either, yo."

Shiki's eyes shined with worry behind her glasses. "And when we were in Traverse Town, Rhyme and I went shopping with… _somebody_ … It wasn't Sora, he was with Beat and Neku…"

Cissnei and Aqua both looked over to Lea, who took in a deep breath. "Yeah," he answered their unspoken question. "Sounds like Sora was here with my lost friend."

Neku turned from his friends to Lea. "Lost friend?"

"Someone who I can't remember but is missing from my life, she's one of the two people we're looking for. I came here hoping Joshua could get her back. Sora was a friend of hers, too."

Neku let out a sigh. "No memory? Join the club."

Rhyme nodded solemnly beside him, but then she looked up at Lea with another smile on her face. "Don't worry about not remembering for now, Lea, because they'll come back to you for sure. You know what they always say—'Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out.'"

Beat, on the other hand, looked unsure. "But yo, not even a name? That bites."

"Not a _name_ , but we have some sort of identifier at least," Cissnei said. "We found a journal calling her 'no. _i_ '."

"Oh, the imaginary number," Neku stated matter-of-factly with an almost sagely nod, eyes closed. When he opened them gain to find everyone just staring at him, he asked a defensive "What?"

"You don't exactly look like a math nerd," Lea commented.

Neku crossed his arms and hid a blushing face behind his collar. "N-No, I just fought a guy who was obsessed with numbers. He named an attack after it."

Shiki giggled. "Though you can also drop the first twelve digits of pi at the drop of a hat."

Neku grumbled under everyone's lighthearted laughter. Shiki turned to Lea, Aqua, and Cissnei. "Anyway, we don't know where Josh is right now, but we know someone who can get in touch with him. You mind following us? It's a bit of a walk."

Lea smiled. Finally, they were _finally_ getting somewhere. A real lead. "Absolutely, lead the way."

"Awright!" Beat pumped a fist in the air. "Next stop, Cat Street!"


	11. Forgiveness and Trust

_So uh… Hey. It's been almost three months since the last update, and I got to apologize for that. I'd like to say I've been busy, but the truth is it was just I didn't want to write. This chapter was actually started when the last one was posted, but it's sat half-finished for a while. If anything you can actually thank being busy for this, because writing the final paper for one of my classes is what got me back to writing this._

 _And I've been told by some people that they didn't get a notice when the last chapter went up, so if it's been longer than the end of September since you saw an update for this, go back and read that too._

 _How about that new 2.8 trailer, huh?_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Forgiveness and Trust**

Shibuya didn't seem to get any less crowded the further they moved from the crossing, and they moved pretty far. By the time those kids had led them to a towering record building, Lea's feet were already aching. And that wasn't even the end of it, apparently they still had a park to go through before reaching this guy who knew how to get in touch with Joshua. Cissnei beside him honestly didn't look too happy either, but not as visibly bitter about the walk as Lea. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head.

 _Whoever this guy is, he better actually be able to help,_ Lea mentally grumbled. _I don't want to walk out to the ass-end of this city for a false lead._

At least one of them was taking it in stride, though. In front of Lea, Aqua was chatting animatedly with Rhyme, though he couldn't quite make out what it was about. Still, it said a lot about her that she was able to keep a smile when one of her friends was still missing. Or maybe it said more about Rhyme, to get Aqua to be like that in this situation. Lea hadn't been around these kids nearly long enough to get a good grasp on them, but Rhyme certainly seemed to have that kind of 'friend to everyone' air about her, not unlike Sora.

As for the rest of her group of friends, well, Beat hung back behind Rhyme but in front of Lea and Cissnei. Probably intentionally, because he had looked uncomfortable when Aqua moved up to speak to Rhyme. The overprotective big brother type, then. He honestly didn't seem like that kind of person, because everything else about him screamed punk kid from the streets—or maybe that was the façade he was trying to put up for himself? To seem strong? Or maybe Lea was looking too into things. He hadn't known this kid for even one day yet.

Leading the procession were the other two, Neku and Shiki. Shiki looked like a real shrinking violet from what Lea could tell. The kind of girl who completely lacked confidence and would bend over if you looked at her mean, kind of like Naminé had before toughening up. But well, that's only what Shiki _looked_ like. Her personality was a complete clash to her appearance; she was the one leading the group along, not Neku, and was also bantering back and forth with Neku with a smile on her face. Though all that said, he noticed the way she nervously clung to the stuffed cat that had previously been attached to her bag, like it was her lifeline. Either the cheerful personality was all an act, or—and Lea found this more likely—she had more insecurities than she let on.

As for Neku… Lea had trouble with this kid. Neku was unreadable. He hid his face behind his high collar and his ears behind his headphones. The only time anyone was able to get a word in with him was when he wanted it. And while he wasn't outright hostile, nor could he even be called unfriendly exactly, there was this sort of air about him whenever someone brought up Joshua. Otherwise he seemed like an ordinary somewhat broody teen, but whenever Lea asked how much further to Josh he seemed to pull inward.

Just what were they getting into going after this guy?

Questions for later, because Shiki assured Lea it wasn't too much further. They were passing under some raised tracks, high-speed trains zooming passed them overhead. On the other side was a park with a name utterly unpronounceable to Lea, 'Meashitaia' or something like that. He didn't really care. It looked nice though, for a park in the middle of an urban sprawl anyway. It was like someone plopped down a bunch of trees in the middle of a parking lot, but it worked. Some kids were riding skateboards in a nearby pit, and Lea spotted a rock climbing wall across the way.

"Once we leave Miyashita it's just a little bit further to Cat Street," Shiki said from up front.

Lea looked around as they left the park behind. The buildings were growing smaller and the streets more narrow, but the sense of them being in some city-sized shopping district never really left, the shops were just smaller now. Some of them looked like the owners lived on the second floor of the buildings, above the shops. It was kind of quaint, but the skyline could never hide that they were still in the middle of a city. And—Lea grunted in annoyance as he and Cissnei dodged a chatty couple—the crowds still weren't a small town's crowds, even if it was empty in comparison to the crossing.

The Shibuya gang came to a stop, and Lea almost kept on walking because the building they stopped in front of was so innocuous. There was a single white table outside, a large tree shading the front, a chalkboard stand menu at their feet, and a sign identifying the place as WildKat, fittingly enough for a shop on Cat Street. It honestly could have been any of the numerous cafés and little shops that they had passed on their way here. Lea hadn't known what he was expecting.

"Joshua is in here?" Aqua asked.

Rhyme shook her head. "No, like Neku said we don't know where Joshua is right now. But the owner of WildKat is a friend of ours, and he can get in touch with him."

"You don't have this guy's number or something?"

Shiki had a small smile. "He's a bit harder to get in touch with than that."

Lea shrugged. "Well whatever you say. Lead the way, then."

Neku pushed open the door, jingling a small bell that signaled their arrival. The inside of WildKat was similarly innocuous, looking like any coffee shop where teenagers would hang out. Lea even recalled spending some time at one almost identical to this with Isa back in the old days. There were both booths and circular tables with cushioned chairs scattered around, a ceiling fan was spinning slowly, and a coffee machine sat behind the counter where a few pastries were on display and a chalkboard had the specialty of the day written in messy handwriting. It was completely normal, aside from the part where it was completely empty.

"We come in on his day off or something?" Lea deadpanned as he worked his way inside. Not that he actually thought that; the door was open and the lights were on, after all.

Beat walked behind the counter and peered into a back room. "Yo, Mr. H! You in here?"

"No need to yell, Beat, I'm here." Heads turned to the other end of the story, where a lanky man who needed a shave sat up from one of the booth's seats. He rubbed his eyes then stopped and stared at the group—more specifically at Lea, Cissnei, and Aqua. "Well now… This is interesting." Flipping on a pair of sunglasses that had been hooked to his collar, the black-haired man climbed to his feet and held a hand out to the nearest of the trio, that being Cissnei. "Hey there, miss. You all new around here?"

Cissnei paused before taking his hand and giving it a quick shake. "Uh, yeah, we are. Um…?"

"Oh, where are my manners! The name's Sanae Hanekoma. Born March third, blood type A. I'm a Pisces and one hip café barista, mista." He smirked, his eyes shining behind his sunglasses.

Lea grumbled under his breath and scratched his head with the other hand on his hip. This was the guy that Neku and the others said would help? Nah, couldn't be. There had to be someone else in the back room.

Aqua had similar concerns. "Mr. Hanekoma—"

"Ah!" Hanekoma held up a hand. "Sorry, sorry. Mr. Hanekoma was my father. My friends call me Mr. H."

Aqua nodded slowly. "Okay, Mr. H. My name is Aqua, and my friends here are Cissnei and Lea. We came here because we were told you could help us find Joshua…?"

For an instant, something changed in Hanekoma's eyes. Without his body budging an inch his gaze shifted toward Neku and the others, where the redhead shrugged. "Sora sent them."

"Spikes did…?" And then just like that, Hanekoma's lighter air was back as if it had never gone. "Well! Looking for Josh, is it?" He fell back into a chair and motioned for the others to sit down. "Tell me what's up."

Lea moved to sit across from Hanekoma, but Aqua beat him to it. In one swift motion Aqua pulled a chair across from him and sat down in it, while giving him a hard look as if trying to read him. And Lea had to admit, Hanekoma was…different, to be sure. With his casual outfit and laid-back expression, it was very hard to believe that this guy could get in contact with someone apparently capable of restoring the lost, especially if that lost person was completely stripped from memory. Yet Lea hadn't failed to notice the way Hanekoma's expression had changed when they mentioned Joshua, nor the gleam that still existed behind his sunglasses. He was trying to figure them out just as much as they were him.

"I'm going to be frank," Aqua said, pulling all of Hanekoma's attention on her. "Sora told us that Joshua can help us find our missing friends."

Hanekoma raised an eyebrow. "Plural?"

"Both mine and Lea's, yes. We arrived separately but both of us were sent by Sora. His is a girl who he can't even remember, and mine is a boy who I have no idea how to find."

Hanekoma let out a breath and seemed to shrink back into his seat. "That's…rough. I'm not gonna lie, that's real rough." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room in thought. "So yeah, it's pretty opposite of standard, but I can probably get in contact with Joshua for you."

Lea let relief wash over him and he practically fell back into his chair. "Thanks so much, man. You don't know what a relief it is to finally be getting somewhere with this."

Hanekoma visibly hesitated. "…Don't go ahead thanking me yet, Flamesilocks." Lea mentally grumbled at the nickname, but was more focused on the sudden pit in his stomach as Hanekoma sat up straighter. "I can get Joshua down here, but I can't promise anything more than that because that's where my job ends. He's the one who's helping from then on and I don't know what he will or won't be able to do."

Lea let out a breath. _Of course…_ He watched as Aqua wrapped her fingers around her blue charm, then felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. Cissnei was giving him a hard look, one which Lea didn't have any trouble reading. He relaxed again, but not as much as before, and looked to Hanekoma with a nod. "Thanks, Mr. H. Really."

"No problem, my man. Losing memories? We've been there." His gaze flickered over to Neku and the others, and Lea could sense something left unsaid hanging in the air. But then Hanekoma once again seemed to completely brush it aside, and that spark was back in his eyes while a grin was painted on his face. "Anyway, Joshua can't just pop in in a heartbeat. You should hit the town, see the sights. Shibuya has a lot to offer for first-timers."

Lea frowned, and he felt his brow crease. "I'm not sure—"

"Actually, that sounds kind of good to me." With surprise, Lea looked over to Aqua. Beside him, Cissnei was nodding.

"We can't do anything right now anyway, right?" She asked when Lea stared at her. "Just got to wait for Joshua to show up. At least this way it'll be faster."

Shiki, who'd been chatting with Rhyme quietly against the far wall, suddenly turned to face the group. "We'd be happy to show you around! And I promise we won't go far."

With three women against him, Lea knew it was already a lost fight. He groaned. "Alright then. I guess you win."

 **x-x-x**

Well, maybe Shibuya wasn't all bad.

They didn't travel too far from WildKat, though they did go somewhat back toward the more densely packed and taller buildings part of Shibuya. They looked around at some stores, were introduced to a game called Tin Pin, and grabbed a bite at this place where Neku seemed to know all the employees personally. There was even sea-salt ice cream. So yeah, not all bad.

Though Lea found his favorite treat hard to finish today. He still couldn't exactly get into the mood, not with the reason they had come there weighing down on him. And to be fair, he wasn't the only one either. It was clear that Aqua and even Cissnei were trying to force it out of their minds. Not to mention it was kind of awkward since they still barely knew these kids, though at least they were all friendly enough.

"So, think Mr. H has got in touch with Joshua yet?"

Lea stood with Neku and Beat in front of a red phone booth. He hadn't thought phone booths even existed anymore. Shiki and Rhyme had taken Aqua and Cissnei into a nearby clothing store, leaving the three of them waiting around as they wasted time before heading back to WildKat. Lea tossed his half-finished ice cream into a trash with a grimace on his face. Friendly or not, this waiting was really starting to kill him. Shibuya had _so many_ clothing shops, he'd kill for a store that fit him more to get his mind off of things.

Neku was messing around on his phone and answered Lea's question without looking up. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has, but Joshua would still need to come down too. We should start working our way back to Cat Street though."

Lea was about to get moving then and there, but Beat spoke up first. "Yo, I ain't leavin' 'til Rhyme gets back."

Lea had to stifle a groan. "This is kind of important, man."

"An' I get that, Red." Why was everyone here a nicknamer? "Really, I do. It's whack what you an' Aqua had to go through. But this is a big city, an' I already lost Rhyme once before. I ain't letting her too far from me again."

Lea's shoulders slumped, and to his side he saw Neku look up from his phone. "Trust us Lea, we're not taking this lightly and we all have had our share of problems. But we can't make a move until Joshua does."

A sigh escaped his lips as Lea leaned back against the phone booth. "This better be worth it. You guys sure are building up my expectations of this Joshua guy."

Neku smiled behind his collar. "Don't worry. You can definitely trust Josh."

"Well, if you say so…" Lea folded his arms behind his head and resorted to people-watching while they waited for the girls to finish up. As he scanned the crowds, though, something stopped him. Something very hard to miss, something that stood out even more than Aqua had back when they ran into her outside the burger place. "What the hell?" Lea jumped out of his relaxed stance, his shoulders raised and sparks flickering at the tips of his fingers for mere moments at a time. "What is _he_ doing here?"

There, standing a good bit taller than everyone in the crowds around him, was somebody who Lea hadn't seen, or even thought of, in nearly a year. Dressed in red and blue, with enough zippers to make Neku jealous, he was not only taller than all of Shibuya's citizens but _wider_ than them as well. And with a giant chin as big as his fists, he looked both ridiculous and imposing.

"The hell's that?" Beat asked with a raised eyebrow. "He looks even more out of place than you guys, yo."

"Pete!" Lea's shout, while not managing to halt the endless chatter of Shibuya, did drown it out for a moment. Heads turned, but true to a big city most of them didn't linger on him long, opting to go back into their own little words instead. Some did stick around though, interested to see who it was that had just called out someone across the street.

"Someone you know?" Neku asked.

"What? Who's calling me, huh?" Pete turned around, shoving aside bystanders unceremoniously. He held a hand over his forehead and peered around the area with narrowed eyes, which then bugged out comically wide when he finally caught sight of Lea. "Whaa—It's YOU!"

"Just what the heck do you think you're doing here, huh?" Lea summoned one of his chakrams and swung it forward, gesturing at Pete. "It's been a long time since we ran into you or any of your friends. Maleficent's been lying low for a while, so why show up here of all places?"

"Me? Why, I should be asking you that!" Pete shouted back at him with a snarl, his finger pointing accusingly at Lea. "What brings you to this town, punk? You couldn't be looking for that shard too, now could ya?"

Lea raised a brow. "'Shard'?"

Pete paused for a moment before he began to chuckle darkly and stood up straighter. "Oh, you don't know, eh? Well in that case I'm keeping my lips sealed."

Well _that_ was weird. Lea wasn't going to lie and pretend he wasn't a little curious now, but he mostly didn't care. "Whatever, it's not like I need a reason to send you running with your tail between your legs." It was a good thing Pete was so much taller than everyone in the slowly assembling crowds. Lea sent his chakram flying right toward Maleficent's lackey, and just as he'd been hoping it smacked him right in the face and onto his backside. At which point the crowd broke into a mixture of fear, surprise, and even interest—a fight had broken out in the middle of Shibuya!

As his weapon vanished in a flurry of embers and back into Lea's hands, Pete climbed up to his feet and wiped a hand over his face. "Oh you wanna fight, do ya? Sorry, but ol' Pete's got places to be. So I'll leave ya with this!" Pete raised his fist high above his head and it flashed with a white light. Letting out a battle cry, Pete slammed his fist onto the ground with a punch that shook the earth. Beat screamed as he fell back himself, while beside him Neku held his ground. The crowds, however, promptly took that attack as their sign to flee, running for their lives except for a brave—or maybe just stupid—few who only backed up.

"You think making some buildings shudder is enough to scare me off? Try again!" Lea darted forward with his chakram ready to strike, but before he had crossed the street to reach Pete a shadow shot out from beneath him and decked him in the chin. Lea stumbled back and, no longer right up close to the one who sucker-punched him, found himself facing an Aerial Knocker.

Beat's voice sounded behind Lea. "Yo, what the hell is that? Noise in the RG?!"

"That's one of those Heartless things that Luxord guy was using when Sora was here!" Neku corrected him.

Lea wordlessly struck down the Heartless and then looked around for more. But there were none, so what…? "Damn it!" He spun around and spotted Pete running down the street. "Get back here!"

"Later, loser!" Pete taunted. Lea raised his chakram, ready to throw, but someone beat him to the punch. Rays of light flew over his shoulder, and Pete looked back behind him with just enough time for his eyes to bug out before the Shotlock slammed right into him. As Pete was sent flying and crashed into the pavement face-first, Aqua and Cissnei ran up to join Lea.

"About time, you two!"

"Sorry, Shiki's pretty adamant about shopping." At Aqua's words Lea looked back over his shoulder just to reassure himself that Rhyme and Shiki were safe with Beat and Neku. When that was affirmed, he turned back to Pete who had climbed back up to his feet.

"You weren't alone, eh?" Pete spat out some dirt.

"Pete, what in the world are you _doing_ here?" Aqua demanded.

Pete just laughed, and then stomped his foot. "Heartless squad! Round up!"

In response to Pete's call, the shadows of the buildings in the area stretched outward and began to transform, turning three-dimensional as they bulged up from the floor. Some took color, and all from all of them emerged those familiar golden beady eyes. Lea grit his teeth as he took a step backwards from the enclosing ring of Heartless surrounding them. Soon he, Aqua, and Cissnei stood with their backs together and weapons drawn.

"Okay, guess we won't be getting answers right away."

Beside Lea, Cissnei gasped. "Pete, stop!"

Lea flicked his head around to see Pete vanish into a corridor of darkness. "Damn it, no!" But as he moved to throw his chakram and intervene in Pete's getaway, a Shadow leapt at him. Lea knocked the Heartless away easily enough, but it did its job. As he looked back toward Pete, all he saw was the corridor closing.

Aqua blasted away several Red Nocturnes at once with Blizzard magic, then spoke to Lea as she focused on a group of Shadows. "Lea, what was Pete up to?"

Lea incinerated a handful of Heartless. "Search me. He asked if I was here for some shard of something, but zipped his trap once he figured out I have no idea what that meant."

"Shard?" Cissnei repeated as she ducked under a Neoshadow's claws.

"Yeah, I have no clue—crap, the kids!" Lea spun around and sent out a wave of flame to destroy a large chunk of the Heartless surrounding them, giving him a clear view of Shiki, Neku, Rhyme, and Beat. But they were completely unharmed; terrified and confused, sure, but the Heartless were just ignoring them. They were ignoring everyone, actually, except for Lea, Aqua, and Cissnei.

"These Heartless aren't going after any civilians."

"Probably because Pete summoned them as a distraction for us," Aqua replied as she cleaved her Keyblade right through an Aerial Knocker. "Makes things easier for us, but just in case, don't let any of them slip away."

Lea ignited his weapon and grinned. "Don't need to tell me how to do my job."

Lea tossed the flaming wheel forward, then quickly summoned his second chakram and sent it out closely behind the first. The chakrams left streams of fire in their wake, spreading embers and flames across the Heartless that ate away at the shadows. A Neoshadow coated in flames shot out from the crowd at Lea with its burning claws aimed for his chest. Lea ducked down under its dive, recalled one of the chakrams back to his hand, and dug the weapon's spikes into the Neoshadow's body. The flames were sucked back into the metal, and it flashed red-hot for a moment before exploding, destroying the Neoshadow. In the wake of the explosion Lea snapped his fingers and the other chakram, still flying in circles above the other Heartless, exploded soon after.

Lea's explosions were drowning out all other sounds, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Cissnei fired her handgun as quick as she could, and when the bullets were gone she quickly swapped to her large red shuriken. She swung the weapon around as if it were a dagger, while throwing actual daggers that had been sheathed at her ankle toward Heartless that kept at a range. When the knives ran out, Cissnei tossed the shuriken toward a Blue Rhapsody that never saw it coming. The shuriken went right through it and three more before landing on the ground, at which point she dashed forward to retrieve it, nimbly dodging each Heartless that attempted to hit her. When one took a running leap, Cissnei dropped down and let momentum finish her off, sliding across the ground and picking her shuriken up in one swift motion.

"Aqua!"

Aqua spun around as Cissnei jumped toward her and brought her shuriken down like a sword on a Heartless that had nearly struck the Keyblade Master from her blind spot. Aqua, in turn, skewered a Shadow that had been pursuing Cissnei. With Stormfall glowing with a bright light, Aqua sent a series of Shotlocks flying all around the busy street, then while the streams of light were busy piercing Heartless after Heartless she jumped into the air with a graceful spin. Aqua held her free hand out and spears if ice formed from a Blizzaga spell manifested in a circle around her, then rained down upon the Heartless. As Aqua dropped down to the ground she slashed her Keyblade through the air, sending out a shockwave that wrapped up the stragglers.

After the trio had caught their breath, Lea heard the sound of footsteps behind them. Neku and his friends ran up to them, concern on all their faces. Rhyme was the first to speak, asking worriedly, "What were those Noise?"

"Heartless," Neku corrected. "Shiki and I dealt with them before, when Sora was here."

"Yo, this is whack! How're we supposed ta fight them if we're not in the UG?"

"UG?" Aqua asked.

Shiki sighed. "Underground. It's a long story, but all you need to know is that the four of us don't have any way to help you against the Heartless and, um…"

"Pete," Lea filled in, answering her unasked question. "His name's Pete, and he works for a witch named Maleficent. No idea what he was doing here, but I doubt he's gone."

Neku slid his hands into his pockets. "Plenty of places in Shibuya for people to hide, even someone his size. In the meantime though, we should head back. The Heartless being back is something Mr. H and Joshua need to hear."

"Lead the way."

 **x-x-x**

When they returned to WildKat, the bell ringing as they opened the door, Lea was glad to see that Mr. H wasn't there alone. What he wasn't expecting, though, was the person sitting at one of the tables and talking to Mr. H. He had pale blond hair and a grey button-up shirt. The two of them turned to look at the group, showing the stranger's smug, even knowing grin on a face too young to be making such an expression. _This_ was Joshua? The person who had so much power? He was just a kid!

Neku stepped around Lea, who still stood in the doorway, and approached the table. "Josh, good to see you."

Joshua flipped some of his hair and Lea could swear he heard a _giggle_ come out of the kid's mouth. "Hello, Neku. How long the days without you have felt."

Lea rolled his eyes. "Look, sorry to interrupt the reunion and all, but we kind of have important things to talk about."

Joshua moved his attention from Neku to the others. "You must be Lea, then. And I assume your lady friends are Cissnei and Aqua?"

Aqua nodded. "It's nice to meet you Joshua, but Lea's right—we need to talk."

"Of course, Hanekoma has already—"

"Not about that," Lea interrupted. Then, quickly, he added, "Well no. Yes, that too, but first we have a more immediate problem. An enemy of ours who commands the Heartless is on your world!"

"Oh, him." Joshua shrugged. "Pete, right? He seems so…brutish."

Lea felt his eyes widen. "You knew?"

"Of course. Nothing happens in Shibuya that I don't know about." Another giggle from him, another flip of his hair. "Plus, he's not exactly the most subtle person in the world."

Neku raised an eyebrow. "You're freakishly calm about this guy, Joshua."

"Why worry? I know that our companions will handily contain the situation. Consider it…payment, for my services." Then, something about Joshua seemed to falter. He let out a sigh, and his smug grin vanished to be replaced by an irritated frown—but not directed at them. He seemed irritated at himself. "Or you _could_ call it payment, if I were actually able to help."

The words blew the life right out of Lea like he had just been punched in the gut. With a horrified expression, and Aqua and Cissnei not looking much better. "What...?" he breathed out. Lea grit his teeth and stepped forward. "What did you just say?"

Joshua, still seated in his chair, looked up at Lea and met him in the eyes. Though the smugness was gone, the obnoxious look the kid was giving him ticked him off, and he immediately pulled a one-eighty from shocked to pissed. "What the _hell_? What the _actual hell_?!" Lea grabbed Joshua by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up to eye level. "We come all this way, wait all this time, and you _won't help us_?!"

"Lea-" Cissnei started to move toward him, but Aqua grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Her own face betrayed her emotions on this matter, but unlike Lea she still seemed in the shocked stage. Her brow ruffled in confusion, too.

Joshua, for his part, was unwaveringly calm about this whole thing. Damn this kid, that just pissed Lea off even more. "I won't help you because I _can't_ help you, Lea."

"What?"

"I. Can't. Help." Joshua raised his hands and pulled himself free of Lea's grip, then fixed the collar of his shirt as he continued to speak. "My power only extends to Shibuya. I can only revive the dead if they died in Shibuya—not to mention participate in the Reaper's Game."

"I don't know or care what any of you're saying means. Are you telling me that this trip was a waste of time?"

"Of course not. I can still assist in your search, I just can't bring your friend back."

Aqua, hope shining in her blue eyes, stepped forward. "Please, elaborate. We'll take anything you can give us."

"Unfortunately Aqua, your friend is still technically 'alive' even if his body is gone, so I am actually no help on that subject. I am truly sorry." He didn't sound sorry one bit.

Aqua sighed and her shoulders slumped, but she looked up after a moment. "But Lea's?"

Joshua brought his hand up to his mouth as he drudged up his thoughts, seemingly trying to find a way to word whatever it was. Lea watched him with bated breath, and ready to go back at him if he gave him a crap answer. "Her situation is more…complicated. I can sense a sort of residual energy in the Realm of Light, permeating everything all around us. I think—I _think_ what happened is that someone…gathered up remnants of her heart, pieces of her dreams that had been lost to darkness. But the energy I feel is only a lingering sentiment. Whoever did this, they and your friend's dreams are no longer in the Realm of Light."

Then the Realm of Darkness? Lea shook his head; no, right now he had other questions, he could worry about the where later. "What do you even mean by 'pieces of her dreams'? And if your powers are limited to this world then how can you be so sure about this?"

"Because I recognize that kind of energy that's permeating the Realm of Light, because I have experience with it," Joshua said bluntly. "With retrieving lost hearts from the darkness." Lea didn't miss the way his eyes flickered over to Neku, Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme—and neither did they.

Mr. H cleared his throat. "Hey Josh, ixnay on the arknessday."

But Neku stood up straight. "No. This is something we want to hear."

Joshua looked over at Neku and the others from Shibuya, who were all giving him hard gazes with varying degrees of worry mixed in. "I suppose this has been a long time coming," he said softly, more to himself than to them. With his hands in his back pockets, Joshua looked up at the ceiling as if remembering something.

"A year ago, a Keyblade wielder in a black mask appeared and unlocked the Keyhole that Sora had sealed. The Heartless arrived and there was little anyone could do nor much time for me to react. Shibuya didn't stand a chance, and our world's heart was consumed with everyone flung into the darkness." When Joshua paused and was met only by silence, he continued. "Everyone but me, with my power as the Composer keeping me safe. But I couldn't accept that. Call it selfish, but I had friends I couldn't just abandon.

"So I reached into the darkness and gathered up what remained, the very last pieces of their dreams. I looked for a place to give them refuge. Traverse Town appeared before me and—imagine my surprise—something about that world made their dreams _real_. They had bodies, they had forms. Interacting with other people, it made them real again…and none of them realized what had happened.

"So I know what I'm talking about, Lea. I can feel the same sort of energy permeating this realm as I could when I did that. After whatever happened to make your friend disappear, someone—who it is, I can't help you with—gathered up what remained. But unlike me, they didn't remain in the Realm of Light. And I have no idea where they could have gone."

Lea's anger at this kid evaporated away as he spoke, replaced by an empty nothingness. He didn't know what it was: overwhelmed? Horrified? Either way, his legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed into a chair. "So she's…" His voice left him. He didn't even know what he was trying to say. Lea felt more than saw Cissnei approach him and rest a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he didn't respond to her touch.

"Lea…" Aqua nearly whispered. "If it worked for them, then that means she's out there somewhere. Right?" Lea didn't respond, but…yeah. _Somewhere_. Somewhere beyond any normal world. Without any leads.

And then the sorrowful silence of WildKat was swiftly interrupted by Neku delivering a punch to Joshua's face, sending the so-called Composer of Shibuya toppling to the ground, his chair crashing next to him with a thunderous clatter.

"Neku!" Shiki gasped.

Beat stomped his foot. "Phones, what the hell!"

"You son of a bitch." Neku glared down at Joshua, his entire body shaking in anger but tears welling in his eyes. "Shibuya was gone—our friends and family were gone—and you didn't think to tell us that so were _we_?! _"_

Joshua pressed a hand to his swelling cheek and stared up at Neku with a bewildered expression unlike any that had been seen on his face so far. Mr. H stood up looking ready to tell Neku off, but one look from Joshua sat him back down. When Joshua didn't speak, however, Neku continued.

"All of us were terrified. We spent every goddamn day in Traverse Town wondering why only _we_ survived. Why only _we_ were lucky enough, when no one else was. Guilt gnawed at us twenty four-seven. And it was all because of you, and you never had the decency what had _happened_! After all that we have been through together, after the whole spiel about trusting your partner, you didn't even trust us with knowledge _concerning_ us!"

"Neku-"

"Shut up. I don't want to listen to you." Neku turned around, leaving Joshua on the floor. "You thought we were friends? Friends _open up_ with each other, Joshua! They tell each other what they're thinking!

We're not friends, Joshua."

Neku stormed out into the streets, slamming the door behind him.


	12. The World Begins With You

**Chapter 12: The World Begins With You**

 _Hypocrite._

The voice in Neku's heart repeated itself over and over while he moved through Shibuya's crowds as just another faceless person in the mass. No matter how much he turned up the music blaring out of his headphones, he just kept hearing that instead. _Hypocrite_.

Neku snarled behind his the collar of his shirt. He turned the volume up to maximum and then shoved his hands into his pocket and moved across the crosswalk. The irony of this entire situation was not lost on Neku. He didn't need a little voice in his head telling him that he was a hypocrite. He knew damn well that he had not always been the most open person. Or open at all, really.

The sound of a train pulling into Shibuya Station caught Neku's attention, and he looked up for the first time in who knew how long. It took a moment to reorient himself, but it quickly registered to Neku that he had found himself at the West Exit bus terminal. Pretty far from Cat Street, and near where they'd run into Lea, Cissnei, and Aqua, in fact. Neku wasn't quite sure what it was that had brought him here, since he usually made his way to Udagawa when he was feeling down. But one empty little street corner caught Neku's eye, and he slowed to a stop. He blinked, trying to drudge up the memory, why this spot of everywhere in Shibuya called to him, and when it came up Neku grimaced. Now he wished he _hadn't_ remembered.

 _Neku stared at Beat with a deadpan expression as the big idiot sputtered angrily, trying to put his thoughts into words. Neku could see why he was angry, but what he had said to get Beat acting like this was the truth, and even Rhyme had admitted it. Neku couldn't scan them with his Player Pin. They could be fellow Players, sure…Or they could be Reapers screwing with him, earning his trust and ready to get the drop on him when he was weak._

 _Eventually, Beat let out an angry roar and stomped his foot. "You piece a' DIRT! Screw you! We don't want your help! Le's bounce, Rhyme." Grabbing Rhyme by the hand, he flipped Neku off and marched off into the city._

" _Wait, no! We're sorry!" Shiki called after the two's retreating figures, with only a brief glance back over her shoulder from Rhyme. "...They left." Shiki lowered the hand she'd been waving after them and let out a soft sigh, to which Neku rolled his eyes. But as if she had seen it Shiki immediately whirled on him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Nice going, Neku! We should all stick together, and you know it!"_

" _Then why don't you go with them?"_

 _Shiki let out a sigh and her face softened, but behind the concerned look she gave Neku he could still see sparks of anger. "Listen to yourself... We're partners, Neku. But I don't understand you! Let me in! Tell me what you're thinking!" She was clutching at her chest as she begged him. And tears welling in the corners of her eyes? How overdramatic._

 _Neku gestured at the Player Pin pinned to her hat. "Let yourself in. You can scan me."_

" _You know that's impossible! Besides, we're right here. Let's just talk to each other—"_

" _And say what? I'm not opening up to anyone. Ever. Other people just hold me back. I can do things my own way."_

Not one of his proudest moments. Neku slowly turned away from the station underpass, his gaze lingering on the road where Beat and Rhyme had run off—because of him, his awful personality. He had been an absolute bastard and he knew it. But those three weeks had opened him up, made him realize that yeah, he could trust people. And then to have that trust thrown under the rug like Joshua had just done was just…

The worst part was it wasn't even the first time that had happened with Joshua.

Twister's lyrics blared in his headphones, but he didn't hear them. At least the voice calling him a hypocrite was gone, that was one upside. Neku continued through the streets with a slouch, thinking back not just on his argument with Beat now, but everything that had happened during his three weeks in the Reaper's Game. Opening up to Shiki, working with Beat to save her, learning to love Shibuya… Working with Joshua despite Joshua killing him. Trusting Joshua after that even if he didn't forgive him for it. Was that situation really so different to this one? Was it _really?_ This time Joshua didn't kill him; hell, this time he didn't do _anything_ bad. If anything he had helped.

Sure he could look at it logically like that, but for some reason it hurt so much more to learn that Joshua hadn't told him about this. He thought—he had really thought—that they had learned to lean on each other in that final game of theirs in the Shibuya River. To put lies behind them. Apparently they hadn't though, and sometimes a lie of omission hurt even more than a normal lie. Neku had really thought they were friends. He'd made a big deal about that in Traverse Town, even. He trusted Joshua with his life (there was that irony again), but it sure seemed like Joshua didn't feel the same if he hadn't even told Neku and the others what had happened to them.

Gone. Not even dead, just _gone_. Nothing but a living dream made out of pieces of memory. He couldn't even comprehend it. The thought made his gut twist. Something so important was something he had deserved know, damn it.

" _But Neku, I thought you couldn't afford to lose."_

Joshua's voice emanated through his memory, deafening all other sounds. Neku slowed to a stop as a fateful encounter with Sho Minamimoto replayed in his mind. The light of Level _i_ Flare expanding toward them, painting the world white. The disorientation, and more predominately utter shock, as Neku felt himself shoved aside. His disbelief as the SOB—the one who had killed him, who had used him like a pawn and set the entire Game up—took the hit for him. His enraging smug grin as he looked back over his shoulder, arms defensively outstretched, while the Grim Heaper's supposed suicide attack enveloped him.

" _Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world."_

"Damn it, Josh."

Neku let out a sigh and turned off his music. He lowered his headphones from his ears, hanging them around his neck as he turned around and looked at the towering skyline of Shibuya. Cat Street was back there even if he couldn't see it. He needed to talk this out with Joshua, not sulk. Could he forgive him? Probably not. But he'd moved past unforgivable issues before. Yet as Neku began to make his way back to Mr. H's, something made him pause. There was some sort of shift in the air, something that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He couldn't quite place it, not just yet, but—

A scream broke his concentration. Neku's head swerved right and his eyes went wide as he watched a living shadow thrust its clawed arm elbow-deep into a man's chest and pull out a pink light. He felt his blood drain from his face. _Heartless_. Neku got into a fighting stance as more Heartless of all shapes and sizes began to emerge and attack, but he quickly faltered. This wasn't the Game. He wasn't in the UG and he didn't have any pins. He was completely powerless, and there was only one thing he could do.

Neku broke into a terrified run.

Unwittingly one more memory struck Neku, of running through Shibuya's streets away from monsters. Only this time he was hardly alone, surrounded by the fleeing masses—including some who couldn't get away in time. The Heartless may have had a lot of similarities to Noise, but their greater threat couldn't have been any clearer at that moment.

The twists and turns through the streets as he ran frantically from the shadows eventually brought Neku to a familiar dog statue near the train station. Against his better judgment and despite the situation, Neku found himself laughing dejectedly under his breath. Here he was dwelling on the past and trust, and he found himself alone at Hachiko.

 _I could really use a partner right now._

 **x-x-x**

 _The cat was out of the bag. It was sooner than he'd have liked, but Joshua knew that sooner or later he'd be found out. Neku was going to learn eventually that Joshua wasn't dead at all. A living person playing the Reaper's Game—unheard of, impossible. And yet here he was._

 _Joshua flipped a strand of his hair._ " _Please, it's not a big deal. We formed a valid pact. We're just like any other pair, Neku."_

 _Neku clenched his fists at his side as he stared down at his feet. "...No."_

" _Hmm? I didn't catch that."_

 _Suddenly angry, Neku glared up at Joshua and raised his fist. "No, we're not, you punk! How can you say you're the same as us? You're alive! You're here 'cause you want to be! Not us! I don't want to be here! I'm not playing the Game for kicks, dammit!"_

 _Joshua shrugged and shook his head. "No, you're playing because you want to live again. You still get something out of this."_

" _You little bastard... Only what you TOOK from me! YOU killed me!"_

 _Ah. There it was. The bomb had dropped._

 _It was about time._

 _Joshua giggled, and he couldn't hide his smile. "Aww, Neku. You said you didn't remember! You sneaky little thing. So what if I did?"_

" _What!?"_

 _Joshua smirked. "What if I am the one who killed you? You're going to do something about it?"_

WildKat was deathly quiet but for the sound of Joshua's thoughts and Mr. H cleaning the counter. Neku's friends and the visitors from off-world had gone to go find Neku, as well as track down that Pete fellow. Lea hadn't been happy about the bombshell Joshua dropped on him, and the truth was Joshua couldn't really blame him for that, but his hands were tied on that matter. He really couldn't do anything to help Lea and Aqua's friends outside of Shibuya.

As for friends _in_ Shibuya, well, Joshua's mind was currently focused on one in particular.

Neku storming out of the shop may have smelled slightly of an immature tantrum, but it was warranted. More than warranted, really. Joshua hadn't been honest with him, and while that wasn't entirely new, after their back and forth of trust and distrust during the Reaper's Game he understood that Neku would feel betrayed. Two of those three weeks had been spent opening Joshua's eyes, showing him that Shibuya as a place worth living in because the people were worth opening up to, and yet he hadn't taken that lesson to heart when Neku had perhaps needed it the most.

Joshua let out a loud sigh and rested his face in his hands. He heard footsteps and peered up for a moment to see Sanae Hanekoma looking down at him with an unreadable expression behind his sunglasses.

"Josh, you just gonna wallow around here all day?"

"Mr. H, have I been a poor friend?"

"I'd say so."

Joshua let out a short, humorless chuckle. "Could have put it a little sweeter."

"I'm just saying what you need to hear."

"Like Neku was?"

"Yes." Wow, blunt. "You may be thinking, 'what difference is there between not telling him I killed him and not telling him he's a dream'? Truth is, Josh—not a lot. The difference is that the two of you have already had this falling out before, and Neku thought that you had gotten past all of this just like he had." Mr. H rubbed his sunglasses on his shirt as he spoke. "You know, you and Phones are both way too much alike for your own good. You shut others out, and you grew not only more open as the Game went on but more toward becoming friends as well."

Joshua hated to admit it when Hanekoma was right. He sighed and spoke almost too quietly for even him to hear his own voice. "So what do I do now?"

"You look for Neku and make things right, because that's what friends do. I know you didn't realize Neku thought of you that way until he said it in Traverse Town, but it's something that had been building up for a lot longer than that. What you did—or didn't to, rather—hurt him a lot more than you realize."

But Mr. H was wrong there. No, Joshua had realized how Neku saw him quite some time before then.

 _Neku stared at Joshua with a mixture of sorrow and hatred. Mostly the latter. His breathing was heavy, and not just from the fight he'd just finished. It was no surprise. Joshua had returned the memories of Neku's death to him in full after all._

 _Neku shook as he spoke. "I thought... I thought I finally found a friend I could relate to... But it was YOU! You killed me!"_

 _A friend? Joshua had to resist the urge to react to that. He hadn't ever thought of Neku as a friend, nor had he thought Neku considered him one. Neku was his proxy and pawn in this Reaper's Game, had been from the start. Joshua masked his surprise with a giggle. "Now, Neku, why don't we play one last Game?"_

 _Neku didn't seem to hear him. "You tricked me..."_

 _Fine then. If Neku wasn't going to respond, then Joshua wouldn't either. He dropped a familiar gun onto the ground between the two of them. "The winner gets to be the Composer, and do whatever he likes with Shibuya. If you win, you decide. If I win, I'll decide." At that, Joshua paused. He'd started this whole thing to fix Shibuya, but after his misadventures with Neku… "...Of course, I've already decided."_

 _Neku stared at the gun, then at Joshua. "You're a monster..."_

Monster. _Joshua didn't let those words get to him, no matter how hard they tried. "Neku? You'd better pick up that gun. I mean, this IS going to be a duel. I'll keep the rules extremely basic. I'm going to count down from ten. On zero, we shoot. See? Easy."_

" _Don't screw with me, Joshua!" Neku screamed._

 _Joshua's mask almost faltered then and there. Don't screw with him? He'd been screwing with Neku for nearly a month by this point. Then why did it hurt to be called out on it now? Not that he_ was _, but… Joshua shook his head. "I assure you, I'm not. Life's little crossroads are often as simple as the pull of a trigger."_

He had known, and he had been happy in that knowledge, because it truly showed him what a wonderful world it was. It'd opened his eyes and convinced him to keep Shibuya as it was. To save the world the _right_ way, not his way.

"And there's no use moping over this. Joshua, don't just sit here in self-pity. Enjoy every moment with all ya got," Mr. H quipped in a faux sagely voice.

Joshua gave a small smile at his old friend. "Quoting CAT on me now?"

"I don't know what those kids see in that loser," Mr. H replied with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Listen, Josh. I'm not gonna give you that same speech I gave Neku back in the day. I'm not gonna because you don't need it. You don't need me to tell you to expand your horizons."

"'The world ends with you'," Joshua said, quoting another one of Hanekoma's oft-repeated words of wisdom. "Life is what we make it, and the world is a bright place if we make an effort to see that."

"Right. But there's a flip side to that whole thing, Josh. The world _begins_ with you, too—you gotta be the one to take that first step. Trust is a two-way street. If you want Neku to trust you again, you've got to show that you're worth trusting."

"Easy enough to say it."

"Never said it'd be done in one day, my man. But take that first step."

"…Right." Joshua sighed. This whole thing was still new to him. But first thing first, he'd better get out there and find Neku—

Joshua nearly fell over as he stood up from his seat. There was something wrong in Shibuya, something that chilled him to his very core as Composer. And it was an all too familiar wrongness, as well. He shared a quick look with Mr. H. No words were exchanged, he could feel it too and both knew what it was.

 _I have to find Neku._

Without another word, Joshua broke into a run and made his way down the Heartless-filled streets of Shibuya.

 **x-x-x**

"Hurry! Run!"

In the chaos of the fleeing crowds in near the Shibu Department Store, Shiki struggled to make her voice heard. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. As the flow of people moved past her in a chaotic panic, Shiki had to resist the urge to follow after them herself. Biting her lip, she looked around the area one last time. Where in the world could Neku have run off to? The Heartless were attacking relentlessly and he knew just as well as she did that they couldn't do anything to fight them off outside the UG.

"This way, please hurry! The Heartless aren't over here!" Among the cacophony of voices, Shiki could hear Rhyme and Beat trying their best as well. They may not have been able to fight without the powers that the Reaper's Game granted them, but they still knew more about what was going on than almost anyone else in the city. They had a duty to manage it as best as they could.

A loud scream from Rhyme, followed by an even louder string of swears from Beat, focused all of Shiki's attention on her friends. She whirled around just in time to see Beat punch a Shadow away from Rhyme, but the Heartless recovered quickly and leapt at the younger girl once again—with friends. Beat swore and readied his fist, but he couldn't handle more than one and the look on his face showed that he knew it. But just before the Heartless could dig their claws into the siblings' chest, a wall of fire erupted between the two of them.

Beat and Rhyme fell back onto the pavement with shock and relief painted on their faces. While the closest Shadows to Lea's barrier burst into flame that consumed their inky bodies, those further back were quickly taken out to the sound of gunshots. In one swift motion, Cissnei holstered her pistol and swung her large shuriken out behind her, its sharpened spikes digging into the body of a Soldier. When the Soldier's partner tried to get her from above, Cissnei didn't even need to look its way before a blue streak slammed into it and cut the Heartless in half with a Keyblade.

"Get back, you three!" Aqua commanded Shiki, Rhyme, and Beat. The area immediately around Shibu Department Store had been cleared out, giving Lea, Aqua, and Cissnei the freedom they needed to go all out on the Heartless. Shiki nodded and helped Beat and Rhyme to their feet before the three of them ran off to safety.

"Good luck!" she hollered over her shoulder.

"Give 'em hell, yo! Phones ain't gonna wait for us forever!" Beat added with a pump of his fist.

Lea smirked at the kids' words, but his attention quickly turned back to the Heartless, collapsing his flame wall and using the embers to burn a few more that were too close to civilians for comfort. That all these Heartless were popping up again had to mean that Pete was still in Shibuya somewhere, of that Lea had little doubt. He was after some sort of shard or something, right? But when they ran into him earlier he hadn't been wreaking havoc like this. Lea could only assume that the Heartless rampaging through the city meant one of two things: either Pete had found what he was looking for, or he realized it wasn't here and the world was useless for him. Lea dearly hoped it was the first one.

A whirling red blur shot in front of Lea's vision. He was snapped out of his thoughts and back to the battle as Cissnei's flying shuriken pierced a Heartless that had almost caught him off-guard. "Get your head in the game!" she called to him as she ran to retrieve her weapon.

"Right, sorry." Lea held his arms out and ignited his chakrams, then flung them forward. The twirling wheels of fire soared through the air, mowing down Heartless after Heartless until they reached Aqua. Aqua threw up a barrier around her that not only protected her from a group of Soldiers, but also deflected Lea's chakrams and sent them flying into even more Heartless. As soon as he recalled his weapons back into his hands, Lea spun around and let them fly, allowing them to spiral outward and catch the last of the Heartless near him.

Aqua moved like a dance as she weaved in and out of the battlefield with cartwheels and sidesteps. Her Keyblade swung through the air unhindered, slicing through any Heartless in range easily, while spears of ice and bolts of lightning struck those more distant. When a duo of Gargoyles struck Aqua from behind and then quickly swept too high for her to reach, she responded by jumping up toward a building and then, surrounding herself in magic she gained from Never Land long ago, jumped again in midair.

Still too short to strike the flying Heartless, Aqua directed her momentum toward the wall of a nearby building and then bounced off of it. Her Keyblade tore through the torso of the first Gargoyle, then magic burst out of the blade and froze the two halves of the Heartless solid. Spinning around, Aqua kicked one half and then knocked the other with the flat of her Keyblade, sending both of them colliding to the other Gargoyle. As it fell, Aqua double-jumped once more and then came down on the Gargoyle from above, piercing through it with Stormfall.

"Cissnei, coming your way!"

Cissnei glanced up as Aqua fell down to her. She cupped her hands while Aqua positioned herself to fall feet-first. Landing in Cissnei's hands, Cissnei then pushed upward and sent Aqua back into the air once more. She moved in a wide arc, leaving lances of conjured ice behind her every few feet. When Aqua landed back on the hard ground, she waved her Keyblade and sent the hovering ice down on the Heartless. Those that survived, whether through toughing it out or from avoiding the ice altogether, were picked off by shots from Cissnei's gun.

The Turk then tossed her shuriken once more, and after slicing through several of the stragglers it arced back toward her like a boomerang. Cissnei caught the weapon and swung it forward several times, knocking away Shadows and Soldiers and tearing at their skin with the weapon's blades. A movement of black just barely in the corner of her eye caught Cissnei's attention and she turned on it, sending the weapon flying—then dropping her composure entirely. Her shuriken hit the stone wall of a building as she stared at the black figure.

It wasn't a Heartless, it was someone in a black coat and hood.

Lea noticed him too. "HEY!" With a wave of his hand, Lea conjured fires that quickly dispatched what few Heartless remained. The figure said nothing, but his hood shifted in Lea's direction. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! It's about time we found you, too. Who do you think you are going around dressed like that?"

Aqua glanced between Cissnei and Lea with a worried and confused expression, while Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme crept out of their hiding placed now that the immediate danger seemed to have passed. Organization XIII's impostor—or revivalist, or whatever he was—kept his vision trained on Lea. Then, without warning, he broke into a sprint and moved down a nearby alley.

"You won't get away from me!" Lea shouted as he took off after him.

"Lea, wait!" Cissnei followed in third, and she could hear the others behind her. As they moved through the maze of Shibuya's back streets, Aqua caught up and gave Cissnei a pointed look.

"I thought Organization XIII was gone."

"It is—or should be. Lea and I don't know who that is either."

"Lea looked like he'd met him before."

Beside herself, Cissnei let out a dry laugh as they continued to run. "Lea told me he had a dream where he met two people in black coats in a rainy city. He feels like they're connected to his missing friend somehow. Maybe that they have her."

"Isn't that only a dream though?" Cissnei heard Shiki ask behind the two women.

"Dreams can be more important than you think," Rhyme chimed in. Cissnei caught Aqua smile at that.

Beat spoke up. "Yo, we only had one o' those Organizers drop by this world before, but from what I hear he was bad enough. Don't need to know who Hoodie is to know he's bad news just for wearin' that coat."

Cissnei pursed her lips but said nothing more. The black coat turned a corner, followed immediately after by Lea. But as the others came around, they found the area they had emerged in—near that dog statue once again—was void of any hooded figures. Not to say that it was empty at all, though. Near Hachiko, a crowd of people including a familiar redhead in orange was surrounded by a dangerously close circle of Heartless.

"Neku!" Shiki shouted, catching his attention just as a Neoshadow leaped at him from behind. Cissnei took the initiative and darted forward, swinging her shuriken in a wide arc to take out not only that Neoshadow but most of its neighbors as well.

"Everyone get out of here!" she shouted as she pointed toward the street they had come down. "The Heartless aren't down there, get to safety!"

The crowd largely departed, save for Neku who found himself squeezed in a tight hug by Shiki. As the faceless masses moved past Lea, he snarled and looked around for the boy in the black hood. No sign of him. "Where the hell did he go?"

"Look!" Aqua pointed at the top of a nearby building. Lea's heart skipped a beat at her shout and his vision followed her finger, but it wasn't the black coat that she was pointing at. Lea narrowed his eyes at the person Aqua had called out.

"Pete."

Maleficent's lackey looked down at them with an annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, you guys are still here, eh? Oh well, I won't be stickin' 'round for much longer anyway, since the shard ain't in this world after all."

"Just what is this shard you're looking for?" Aqua demanded. A fireball ignited in her hand and she held it out toward Pete with a silent threat.

Pete let out a mighty guffaw. "Oh no, we learned all about being too loose with our plans! None o' that this time, missy. I'll just leave you with a parting gift. Grim Reaper, deal with Sora's friends!" Pete snapped his fingers and a storm of darkness appeared down on the ground before Hachiko, black and purple wisps conjuring together into the form of a large Heartless. Behind the chaos, Pete slipped away into a corridor of darkness.

The Heartless that Pete had summoned was a humanoid monster colored in greyish blue and dull purple. It looked thin, emaciated even, and lacked legs completely. The Heartless's weapon, and evidently the source of the name Pete had given it, looked something like a cross between a scythe and a pendulum as it swung back and forth in its hand.

Lea rolled his eyes. "Fine then, have it your way."

Cissnei stepped up beside Lea. "We'll have to get answers later. I'm sure we'll run into him again."

Aqua got into her combat stance as she held her Keyblade and fire spell. "We can handle this Heartless. We've handled far worse."

Without waiting another moment Aqua struck out, sending her fireball right at the Heartless and hitting it dead on in the emblem on its chest. Before the explosion had faded jumped through the billowing flames and brought her Keyblade down on it, slicing across the Grim Reaper at an angle and sending it spinning like a top around the area. But the Heartless took advantage of the momentum she had given it and held out its weapon as it spun. With this simple action it quickly became a deadly whirlwind.

Aqua threw up a barrier around her as the Heartless came toward her and it rebounded off of it, sending it hurtling toward Cissnei and Lea. The two of them jumped out of the way and then tossed their own weapons at it, the blades slicing at its hide. The Heartless stopped spinning and moved to swing its weapon in a wide arc, hard enough to have sent anyone hit by it flying if it hadn't choreographed its movements so obviously. Calling his chakrams back into his hands, Lea pressed them together and then slammed them onto the ground. A pillar of flame erupted out of the earth right under the Grim Reaper, surrounding it in flame that sent it reeling. Before the flames died down Aqua and Cissnei made their move from afar, Aqua shooting Blizzara lances at it while Cissnei fired her pistol.

A gust of wind blew over the area and the Heartless seemed to vanish, before reappearing in the direction the wind had blown. Oh, so it did have some tricks up its sleeve. Not enough, though. As the Heartless tried to conjure a small tornado, Aqua hit it while it was vulnerable. A series of quick Keyblade strikes interrupted its casting and seemed to hurt it a surprising amount. Aqua jumped away from her foe and fired a Shotlock at it before returning to Lea and Cissnei, the former of which was growing annoyed.

"Is Pete kidding with this?" Lea asked. "This guy is too wimpy!"

As if in response, the Heartless's body began to shake. Its colors to a more purple palette and dark flames sprouted from its body. "It didn't like you insulting it," Cissnei quipped.

"Well, let's see if it changed more than just its looks!" Lea lit his chakrams aflame and sent both of them flying right at the Grim Reaper—which they passed through as if it weren't there. "What the—"

Lea couldn't even finish his question before another gust of wind, this time more powerful, blew through and the Heartless vanished. An instant later it appeared right in front of the trio and brought its weapon down on them. Cries of pain rang out around Hachiko from all three fighters as they were knocked back and scattered. Aqua righted herself in midair and fired another Shotlock before she landed, giving her the opportunity to run back at the Heartless. But Lea's bad luck wasn't just a fluke; neither the Shotlock nor the leaping strike Aqua made with her Keyblade hit the Heartless either.

The Heartless conjured a tornado and sent it flying. The razor winds picked up Cissnei and Aqua and assaulted them from all sides while also sending them high into the sky. Cissnei took what opportunity she could and tossed her shuriken at the monster, but she now expected what she saw as it phased through the Heartless and lodged itself into the ground behind it. Before both women crashed into the ground Aqua cast an Aero spell of her own, slowing their fall.

"Fine, so you stepped up your game. But you're still just a Heartless!" Lea spun his chakrams around in his hands and shot forward.

Aqua shouted after him. "Lea, wait! We need to try a different approach!"

He paid her no mind. A ring of fire burst to life around Lea, trapping the Heartless before lighting the ground beneath Lea's feet aflame. Lea jumped backwards and passed through the flames unharmed, then moved quickly along them and shot back inside from another angle, ready to hit the Grim Reaper with both of his weapons at once. But the Heartless not only wasn't hurt by the attack, it saw him coming and slammed the shaft of its weapon into his gut. Time briefly seemed to slow for Lea as he felt the breath leave his lungs before the Heartless sent him crashing into Hachiko's statue.

"What…the hell…" Lea grumbled as he climbed to his feet. Absently, he felt a Cure spell wash over him. Aqua and Cissnei were running his way, one eye on the Heartless at all times. "What now?"

 **x-x-x**

Some distance away Rhyme nervously took a step backwards, her eyes wide. Beat wrapped his hands around her protectively. "What's going on? Why can't they hurt that thing anymore?"

"It looks like it changed somehow…" Shiki said.

"It's become invulnerable, I'd say." The four friends turned toward the road, where Joshua was hurryingly running toward them.

"Joshua…" Neku's words caught in his throat. He sighed and shook his head, not sure where he was going with it.

Luckily, Joshua did seem to know. "Let me do the talking. By the look of things we don't have a lot of time for this anyway." He looked over to the Grim Reaper as it brushed aside Lea's flames like nothing, grimaced, and then turned back to the others. "I've been an awful friend, and I'm here to apologize to all of you."

Neku heard Shiki suck in a breath, but said nothing himself, so she took it to speak instead. "Joshua—"

Joshua held a hand up. "Please Shiki, let me finish. A lot of stuff happened in the past and we moved past it all the same. You trusted me after everything I put you all through in the Reaper's Game, and I took that trust for granted. I…took that friendship for granted. I thought I was keeping you all safe by not telling you what had happened when we were in Traverse Town. Blissfully unaware, you know? But I understand now that was a mistake, and you deserved to know."

"We've had a back and forth like this one before," Neku said softly. "I don't think I can forgive you for lying to us like this, Joshua."

"We have. And I'm not here to ask you to forgive me, because I know I don't deserve it. All I'm asking is that you trust me again, and I know that will be hard. I don't know that I deserve it, either. I've played with lives for so long, I don't know what I'm doing, how to really interact with-with friends, I just push people away, but that's because I've never—"

Damn it, they were too alike for their own good. "Joshua." Neku's voice cut Joshua off. He looked up at the other boy, who gave him a long, hard look. "Stop talking like that, that's not the person you are. Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world."

Joshua continued to stare wordlessly at Neku. Neku himself felt kind of embarrassed for saying something so cheesy, but it seemed to do the trick.

"You're an absolute bastard, you know that?" Neku asked with a grin hidden behind his collar. "I don't know that I can forgive you for treating us like toys again, but damn it, I also know the number one rule is to trust your partner. If nothing else, I do trust you to have our best interests at heart, Joshua."

"Neku…" Joshua shut his eyes and exhaled softly through his nose. "Thanks. And…don't tell Mr. H about how I acted here, alright?"

"You kidding? This is just the juicy kind of blackmail I look for to rub in your smug face."

Then, Beat shoved his way between the two of them. "Yo, I'm glad we had this heart to heart an' all, but we've still got a bigass monster on our hands that those guys can't even hurt. What we gonna do about this?"

Joshua looked over to the battle as the Grim Reaper brought its weapon down on Aqua, knocking her to the ground. Cissnei ran over and helped her up just before the Heartless attacked again. "…I think I may know a way we can fight it."

Neku raised an eyebrow. "Uh Josh, maybe you haven't noticed, but we can't exactly do anything outside of the Game."

Joshua allowed himself a sly grin. "Oh Neku, have you forgotten? I'm the one who controls Shibuya and the Game." A billowing white aura began to appear around Joshua's body and it extended out toward the others. "I can give you the powers you'd normally have in the Underground, but only for a brief time. And I think fighting together, the way you did there, may just be the key to hurting this Heartless."

Shiki frowned. "If you could do this before, why didn't you do it last time the Heartless attacked?"

"That was a situation nobody was expecting. And…my outlook was a tad different as well." As the aura grew brighter, Joshua looked to each of them. "Now, do you trust me?"

Neku took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. "Go for it, Josh."

Immediately Joshua's aura pulsed outward. As the wave of light washed over him, Neku felt a searing pain on the palm of his hand as if someone had taken hot iron and pressed it to his skin. He let out a hiss and gripped his arm, then slowly unfurled his fingers to see glowing red numbers burned into his skin and actively counting down. They didn't have a lot of time.

 **x-x-x**

Lea grimaced as he watched his chakrams once more fly harmlessly through the Grim Reaper's body. He'd heard Neku and the others chatting away, but hadn't had any time to focus on what they were saying. "Whatever you kids are doing, do it quick. We can't exactly handle this!"

"We got it!" A flash of green burst behind Lea and then flew upward. Glancing up at the sky, Lea caught sight of Neku surrounded in a green ball of light. He waved his hand and sent a shockwave through the air that, wonder of wonders, actually managed to cause the Heartless to flinch. Neku landed on the ground and held a hand to his headphones; a moment later, bikes, trash cans, and even a car flew off the ground as if propelled by some psychic force and crashed into the Heartless.

Lea let out an impressed whistle and ran out of the way of the Heartless's next attack. "How the _hell_ are you hurting this?"

"What do you know, the light puck bypasses its immunity." Neku said to himself. Then he looked up to Lea and grinned. "Just watch and learn, alright? Shiki!" Neku called out to his friend, who stood across the battlefield. In response to his voice, the green light fled from his body and flew toward her. Shiki was already running toward it, and when she and the light met halfway a brilliant white flash erupted from both Shiki and Neku.

"Neku, come on!"

"Right behind you!"

The two moved at supersonic speeds, so fast that Lea couldn't even keep up with them—or perhaps it was teleportation? Whatever the case, Shiki and Neku moved all around the Grim Reaper, there one minute and gone the next, too quickly for it to strike back. And for every fraction of a second that they were visible, they tossed bolts of red and blue energy at it from their hands. As Neku's attack had before, this one was able to break through the invulnerability that the Grim Reaper held. Was this the power of that green light being passed around?

Beat rolled past Lea on his skateboard, meeting Shiki and Neku when they finished their attack, but only for a moment as he snagged the light puck from Shiki and became enveloped in the green light himself. "The Beat is on!" he roared.

"Bring it!" Neku added in, running after him.

The earth rumbled as chains broke out of the street and walls of surrounding buildings. They crisscrossed over the entire area, forming an intricate web that kept the Grim Reaper restrained while also providing Beat with just the path he needed. Still moving on his skateboard, Beat jumped up onto the nearest chain and began to grind on it while wrapped in not only the light puck but a fiery red aura as well. Neku followed suit, a blue aura surrounding him while he dashed through the air along a different chain than Beat, propelled by the same psychic power that had lifted the objects before. Beat and Neku dashed past the Heartless, striking it with invisible force and then continuing on as if it hadn't been there. They moved to more chains and shot at it again, then another chain and again, repeat and repeat until the chains vanished. Still on his board, Beat spun through the air and the light puck flew from his body—right into Joshua's outstretched hand.

Neku landed by the blond coated in the telltale green sphere, who gave his familiar cocky grin to him. Both of them looked to the Grim Reaper, which charged toward them, its weapon primed. Neku held his hand out toward it. "Another world awaits."

Joshua crossed his arms out in front of him. "And you're going."

The light puck flashed and duplicated itself, a second one moving to surround Neku while linked to Joshua's own aura by a sparkling green chain. The two of them, levitating a few inches off of the ground, held their hands out to their sides, and suddenly the sky turned orange.

Lea glanced up to see an enormous meteor barreling down toward them, the heat of its flames doing nothing to him but visibly making Aqua and Cissnei uncomfortable. "Are you planning to bring down the entire city?!"

Neither Joshua nor Neku answered as the meteor came down on Shibuya, centered perfectly on the Grim Reaper. Lea barely had time to scream, let alone run, as the meteor made impact and he was blinded by all-consuming white…

…For only a moment. Slowly, blinking as his vision cleared, Lea looked around to see that Shibuya was still intact. He was alive, as were Cissnei, Aqua, the kids…in fact, the only one who wasn't was the Heartless, its body fading away into darkness as it contorted painfully. Behind it, the light puck faded from both Neku and Joshua as Shiki and Beat joined them and Rhyme came out from wherever she'd been hiding. When Lea finally found his voice he wanted to scream his confusion to the heavens, but all he could manage was. "What the _hell_ was _that_?"

Cissnei looked almost as shocked as he did, but when she realized he was watching her for a reaction she quickly composed herself. "I guess it's what the power of bonds between hearts is capable of."

"These kids could _not_ do that five minutes ago!"

Aqua shook her head and put a hand on Lea's shoulder. "It was certainly flashy, but then we've had some pretty flashy fights too."

"Well yeah, but they could have lent us a hand earlier, you know?"

Shiki giggled. "We'd have loved to, but like you said we couldn't do that five minutes ago; we normally can only fight like that in the Reaper's Game."

Neku looked down at his hand as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. "It's already gone, too." He looked to his side. "Thanks a ton, Josh. You know, for everything."

Joshua smiled—not his usual smirk, but a warm, genuine smile—but then turned his head as if avoiding showing that smile. He coughed once into his fist. "Well, I suppose there's only one thing left to do to make sure this doesn't happen again." He turned to Aqua. "Think you could loan me that key of yours?"

 **x-x-x**

A bright blue-white light illuminated the massive room Joshua had led them to at the end of the Shibuya River. As Aqua held her Keyblade out before her with both hands, a wind whipped up around her and she gazed upward at the source of the light: a glowing Keyhole on the middle of three massive pillars, one that had been locked before only to be unlocked again. Wisps of light matching the color of the Keyhole's radiance swirled around Stormfall's tip, and once concentrated together a beam fired from the Keyblade up to the Keyhole. The Keyhole flashed brightly before fading as if it had never been.

"Is that it?" Cissnei asked behind her.

Aqua dismissed her Keyblade and turned to face the others. "Yup," she nodded. "Shibuya should be safe from the Heartless once again."

"That's a relief." Neku let out a breath and slipped his hands into his pockets. "So, guys, where to next?"

Lea slumped. "Good question. Now not only do we need to keep an eye out for the freaks in black, but Maleficent's gang is apparently getting up to no good too."

Aqua shook her head with a smile. "When are they ever not? But that's just something we'll have to deal with, isn't it?"

Lea, who'd been stretching an arm above his head, stopped mid-stretch. "'We'? You coming along, Aqua?"

"Er, if that's alright, anyway."

"Hey, I don't have a problem with it. The more the merrier."

Cissnei nodded and crossed her arms. "Yeah, it'd be nice to have someone more experienced with world travel around. Though…we have kind of used up all of our leads now. Not exactly a lot to go on." Her gaze flickered over to Joshua for a split second before returning to the others, but Joshua caught it nonetheless.

The kid in question brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Aqua, Lea. I want to apologize again for not being able to help your friends since they're not in Shibuya. But you wouldn't need me even if I were able to."

"How do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"It's a matter of heart. You, as friends and loved ones to those two, are the only ones who can make them exist again—who can give them another chance. Listen to me, this is something I realized back in Traverse Town: By ourselves, we're no one. People need to see others, and interact with others, to truly exist. To get your friends back isn't something an outside force can do. You need to connect with them." He cast a glance at Neku. "The world begins with you. You have to make that step forward."

Lea took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. He'd had enough of enigmatic explanations from this boy and for once wanted something concrete. "Joshua, just _who are you_?"

Neku answered Lea's question, as he looked over to Joshua by his side with a smile on his face. "Let's just say, a friend."


	13. State of the Fic

So, at this point just over two months since the last update (not to mention the slow updates this story has had in general), I think it's safe to say the fic is going into hiatus. You probably all figured that by now, but I guess this is me out and saying it. This isn't something I had planned, it just kind of happened, but I'm not as invested in _On the Way to a Smile_ as I had expected to be. Maybe it's because _The Tides Go Out_ kind of wrapped things up, Terra's fate aside, or maybe it's just general burnout. I have been writing this for about three and a half years now.

Now, the story isn't canceled. I will continue it some day, I just can't really say when that day will be. Then again, I'm sure a lot of fics announcing a hiatus have said that too, huh? Well, I'll try to stick to my word on this. In the meantime, I've been toying with a Legend of Zelda fic - one just a single part, not four planned like _Remember the Tides_ ended up being - but I can't say when or if that will start anymore than I can say when this story returns. Still, if you're interested in Zelda then it may be worth checking my profile every once in a while.

With all that said,thank you for reading _Remember the Tides_ , _The Tides Go Out_ , and what little there is of _On the Way to a Smile_. I hope to see you all again when an update does come!


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